


Smoak Signals

by Pastelglitchesxx



Series: Flip Envy Into Ecstasy (Arrowverse Polycule AU) [9]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Batwoman (TV 2019), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arrowverse Polycule, Asexual Oliver Queen, Barricity, Barrolicity, Bisexual Felicity Smoak, Crossover with Flash is mainly second chapter, Crossover with everyone else is completely third chapter, Everyone is Queer, F/F, F/M, Gen, Headcanons about e-2 felicity and about our felicity's childhood, Hurt/Comfort, Laulicity - Freeform, Lauricity - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Olivarry, Pansexual Barry Allen, Polyamory, Sexual References, Sexual Tension, Swearing, Transgender Felicity Smoak, Warning! self deprecating thoughts;, brief mention of child abuse, brief transphobia/aphobia/polyphobia/queerphobia mention;, everyone is poly, lesbian laurel lance, mild nudity (just gals changing in front of their pals you know how it is), olicity - Freeform, polycule, self esteem issues;, smoaksiren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pastelglitchesxx/pseuds/Pastelglitchesxx
Summary: Felicity Smoak and Laurel Lance, Overwatch and Black Siren, the brains and the brawns. It all sounded so simple. But nothing dared to be fucking simple on this Earth. Who was Laurel kidding? As if someone as smart and shiny and beautiful and good as Felicity fucking Smoak would ever be interested in… the evil Black Siren.Fuck, like she’d ever even agree to a real date. If anything Felicity was a thousand times more lucky to say—“No.”“Hmm?”
Relationships: Barry Allen & Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Barry Allen/Felicity Smoak, Barry Allen/Oliver Queen, Barry Allen/Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Barry Allen/Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak/Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Earth-2 Laurel Lance & Oliver Queen, Earth-2 Laurel Lance/Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: Flip Envy Into Ecstasy (Arrowverse Polycule AU) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020049
Kudos: 13





	1. Smoakscreen

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit I'm not writing in Killer Frost's POV?? oh my god Who Am I
> 
> First fanfic for Arrow! Let me say i was not expecting Smoaksiren to punch me directly in the gut, yet I have fallen in love, and here we are. As a Killersnow shipper I'm legally obligated to fall for Smoaksiren. As such this takes place in the same universe where all my killersnow fanfics live (as of right this second, "Snow Laughing Matter," "Staying Pawsitive," "Cait Ro-Snow," and "Chill Pill") and also that frost/silverwire fic too ("Thin Ice And Scattered Mice"), plus that one with sort of ciscait ("Friendship Points," I'm also working on a queerplatonic ciscait fic so since all my fics take place in the same universe you could take their friendship in friendship points as a qpr), but you don't need them to understand anything in here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You look hotter when you have your hair down,” Laurel explained. “I mean— not hotter, but a different version of hot. Like, hot-sexy instead of hot-cute. Like, I don’t know, fuckable, y’know?” 
> 
> With a slow flash of her dimples, Felicity swung around quickly. Their faces brushed against each other. The close proximity made Black Siren widen her eyes. “It sounds like you know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay this is offically the last touch-up for this story it's all done i'm moving on to another fic now. Anyways don't worry I come off as much less dyslexic in my writing

Black Siren knew that everyone saw a ghost when they looked at her. Not only had she stolen her doppelgänger’s identity, she was the Canary’s identical twin. There was just one person who had always suspected her; Felicity.

Earth-One Felicity Smoak, who couldn’t be more different than E-2’s. That one took the name Kuttler, worked under the alias  _ Batgirl, _ was a hacker-for-hire and more likely to blackmail and torture than awkwardly ramble off sex jokes. She had just been Oliver’s partner in business, not in… other things. Laurel doubted those two were even _ friends.  _ They seemed to be pure rivals outside their operation.

But this Felicity was woefully contrastive. Because nothing could ever be simple on Earth-One.

This Felicity was a goody-two-shoes in comparison to the one Laurel knew. This one wasn’t a high school dropout, a narcissist, mad scientist or assassin.  _ Overwatch _ grew up with her mother, had graduated from MIT with honors, worked as a computer genius, had run two companies, and apparently had been a stoner hacktivist in college. She was even  _ married  _ to her partner in crime-fighting. 

Needless to say, gross.

Laurel sighed into the emptiness of her friend’s apartment. The one she shared with said husband. Felicity was in the bathroom, trying to wash spilled beer from her blouse before it stained. Laurel had won a pretty difficult case the day before. Felicity surprised her with Icon For Hire concert tickets and a list of all the gay bars in town. 

She never had to tell Felicity she was gay. Not in so many words. A little flirt here and there, a comment about a passing stranger. What confirmed it was Felicity daring her to reveal her first ever childhood crush. 

_ They’ve been sitting on the living room couch, getting drunker with each cup of wine. Felicity proposes 20 Questions, and Laurel agrees with a groan— “Only for you, smartass.”  _

_ A few rounds in, Felicity suddenly gasps and shoots forward, basically prying open and crawling over Black Siren’s legs. _

_ Felicity looks at her with those bright blue eyes, calculating but so friendly and so, so  _ stupidly _ sincere. Her hair was down, much like Laurel’s guard. Breathless, she almost leans forward to kiss her. She just... names a name, thoughtlessly. Felicity bursts out laughing when she says “Matilda,” the telekinetic little girl from a children’s book Laurel read as a kid. The blonde’s head falls above Laurel’s chest. Awkwardly, Laurel rubs Overwatch’s back while her cackles die down. Felicity falls asleep on her, and Laurel stays there silent for almost an hour before she gently moves the girl and gets the fuck out. _

The memories nawed at her brain. The more she ignored them, the harder it was to fight back. The  _ stupid, stupid, stupid  _ little  _ feelings _ or  _ whatever  _ needed an outlet, or else they would keep coming back to fuck everything up. What was she supposed to do? Grab her married best friend by the shoulders and force herself on the poor woman? Laurel would rather die! Confess to Felicity? And willingly bring on all that humiliation, rejection,  _ hatred? _

Yeah, fuck that, no thanks. 

These dumb thoughts were enough to ruin everything Laurel had built here. What if it disgusted Felicity?  _ Please, like she’d ever get straight-up  _ disgusted _ by a girl crush,  _ Laurel scoffed.  _ Have a little faith in the woman you’re supposedly in love with, dumbass.  _ But Felicity wasn’t just her best friend, she was her only friend. Somewhere inside, she knew it would make Felicity uncomfortable. It  _ had _ to. It was coming from Laurel, after all. She wouldn’t ever be able to make up for it, to apologize for it being  _ her.  _

Laurel didn’t want to be alone again. She was scared of what she’d become if she were alone.

_ I’m so fucked. _

Besides, who would Felicity turn to if Laurel wasn’t there? Drinking dates with Dinah sounds as fun as spending five years on Lian Yu. 

Drinking  _ friend _ -dates, of course. Not real dates.  _ Friend _ ones. Because people did that on this Earth.

How was anyone supposed to know when they were getting hit on? Felicity had a hard enough time flirting  _ as is! _

Sure, celebrations weren’t really Laurel’s thing. Though gay bars and rock bands definitely were. So far, they’d just gotten back from the concert. Oliver was out on his own friend-date with the Flash. The kid was sleeping over at Wild Dog’s. Laurel had Felicity all to herself. For the night, at least. 

That wasn’t a problem for her, sharing her friend with her family. Laurel only wished she… Well, she doesn’t really know. Maybe she wished that Felicity loved her like she loved Oliver. She didn’t want things to change between the three of them. She still wanted Felicity—and Oliver—to be happy. But with a little more  _ her  _ thrown in the mix. Maybe with a bit more warmth, a bit more…  _ kiss and tell. _

She heard Felicity beginning to pull the doorknob. Laurel looked over at her reflection in the TV and quickly fixed her appearance. She adjusted her leather jacket and wildly tossed her hair to one left side, trying to look the least like the dead Lance. When the bathroom door clicked open, that same neutral expression fell on her face. A bored frown, mocking gaze and furrowed brow. 

_ Because resting bitch face would definitely get you a girlfriend. _

Laurel rolled her eyes.  _ Act cool, act cool. Dammit! I sound like a fucking schoolgirl. Don’t just act like it, be like it, whore. _

She took a second to breathe.  _ Did I just call myself a whore? _

“The stain’s not coming out!” Suddenly, Felicity’s voice filled her ears. Laurel flinched. Luckily Felicity was walking into her bedroom, not giving a glance at the meta on her couch until she opened the door. “Can you help me pick out a new shirt?” 

Black Siren squinted at her.

“Please~?” Felicity sang. “Pretty please with cherry on top?”

Laurel scoffed at Overwatch’s pearly-white grin. Felicity let out a victorious  _ yay!  _ when Laurel got up and followed her into her room. Felicity and Oliver’s bedroom.

“You can sit on the bed,” Felicity said. 

_ The bed you and Oliver fuck on.  _

Laurel’s shoulders jumped. She forced the dirty thoughts from her brain as she sat down, crossing her legs. Laurel totally did  _ not _ notice Felicity’s ass when she bent down to take off her wet shoes. Laurel instead focused on the song Felicity was humming when she got back up to look through her wardrobe. Icon For Hire’s  _ Hope of Morning.  _ It was Laurel’s favorite, the very first ‘favorite’ thing she shared with Felicity. Showing Felicity her music taste was like giving the vigilante a piece of her deepest self— music was the thing that comforted and calmed Black Siren all her life, her only safespace.

Her only safespace, prior to Felicity Smoak. 

_ “Totally _ not saying I haven’t been to a gay bar before—because I have,” Felicity said. Laurel oddly smirked as she noticed the blonde had slipped into her fastened rambling voice. “But mostly my friends said to come as I was. That was when I had this dark stringy hair and wore contacts and pirated so much stuff—not that I don’t still pirate stuff—which I  _ don’t, _ because it is illegal— and had  _ way _ more piercings. Or, y’know, more  _ facial _ piercings. I endured too much pain to let ones in certain places close up, heheh—I mean—Uh,  _ the moral of this story is don’t get your nipples pierced—!” _

“Wow!” Laurel said. “Wish someone had told me that  _ before _ I went to Claire’s.” 

Felicity cleared her throat awkwardly. “Sorry. Uh, are gay bars more a dress thing or what?” 

Laurel snickered back. “Got any flannel?” 

“Yes, actually!” Felicity jumped to grab an old shirt at the back of her closet. Laurel shook her head, happy that Felicity couldn’t see her smile from behind. 

What Felicity proudly showed off to Laurel was a pink button-up. She also pulled out skinny jeans. “Black pants?” 

“Yeah! All the lesbians I know wear black pants. You, Dinah, Frost, my girlfriend Nyssa, Alena—” 

“Okay! I get it.” 

Felicity looked at her with such brightness. Laurel couldn’t crush her beaming face. “That’s fair.”

Felicity smiled. She unbuttoned her jeans on the way over to the bed and wriggled her legs until they fell to her knees. Laurel stared at her for a second, processing, then hastily whipped her head in the other direction. She swore she saw a flash of silver on Felicity’s belly button, and something colored inked on the skin above her hip— a tattoo? Despite how the blouse fell to cover Felicity, the image was stained in Laurel’s mind. A heart, with a sideways infinity symbol brimming out of the center. 

_ How cute,  _ Laurel thought.  _ Felicity never does fail to surprise. _

Tossing the jeans aside, Felicity stood back up. As she stepped back to the closet, she took Laurel’s hand and dragged her on her feet. Laurel almost tripped over herself at the abrupt touch. She snapped her hand back, gagging with forced venom.

Felicity smiled at her through the mirror beside the closet door. She had long-since stopped taking Laurel’s whole act seriously. Somehow, she knew things like that were Laurel’s secret love language. 

Maybe Black Siren wasn’t as good as she thought.

“Can you unzip me?” 

Laurel hoped to whoever would fucking listen that she didn’t flush.

She gave Felicity her most polite smile and considered her words carefully. “What are friends for?” 

“I don’t think most of my friends see me in my underwear,” Felicity said. “I mean, I’ve known John for five years and he’s never—”

_ You’re really not helping me. _

Laurel’s hands shook indignantly at the zipper top. “Boys are different.”

Felicity chuckled girlishly. “I mean, technically you both like girls so usually I would be, like, half-uncomfortable but half-thankful because you’re a girl, but you like girls, which means you  _ could _ hit on me if you really wanted to— not saying you would, obviously, I mean undressing your pal is a sign of a completely platonic relationship, right? We’re gals being pals,” she giggled to herself, “but also guys could still check me out anyways so—” 

“Anyone and everyone could and would check you out, Felicity, you’re basically everyone’s dream girl,” drawled Laurel, finally starting to unzip her.

“Even yours?” Felicity joked.

Their eyes locked in the mirror reflection. The zipper stayed in place for a moment. Laurel stared into Felicity’s shimmery gaze. She could feel her defenses cracking at it. She opened her mouth to say  _ something,  _ to spill  _ everything  _ that had _ caused a storm in her head, she took a quick gasp of air before— _

“Oh, be careful with my spine! I’m paraplegic, remember? Try not to break the chip in me bones.”

_ Before… _ the moment passed.

Laurel looked back at the zipper. Something swam in her stomach, something she couldn’t let herself feel. “You sound like Mr. Krabs.” She said, and down the zipper went. “Just putting pressure on it can’t actually break it, right? How the fuck would you sleep?” She stepped back, watching Felicity take off the blouse by its sleeves. 

She tilted her head. “Or, fuck, how’d you consecrate your marriage?”

“We didn’t need to. And,” Felicity looked back at her, with a big innocent grin that did _ not _ match her bra, and said in the most kindhearted tone, “I’m a fucking top, Laurel.”

Surprise bolted through her body.  _ Nope, nope, nope, don’t fucking think about— god fucking dammit you’re thinking it.  _ Laurel shook her head. 

_ Why are you like this? This is your  _ friend, _ your  _ platonic _ friend, your  _ married cishet  _ of a  _ friend, _ she is literally married to the dude who decides whether you’re trusted or not, you can’t fucking be into her, they will  _ disown _ you, you fucking can’t—  _

But the thoughts struck back harder. She imagined Felicity on top of her, kissing her as if the tastes on Laurel’s mouth was her lifeblood. Laurel’s hands would slip into Felicity’s back pockets and Felicity’s palms were be pressed against Laurel’s face— Laurel knew she would be fucking  _ grinning _ like the  _ idiot _ she is the entire time and hoped beyond  _ stupid, stupid  _ fucking  _ belief  _ that Felicity would sprout a smile, too.

Wouldn’t that world just be so easy? Felicity Smoak and Laurel Lance, Overwatch and Black Siren, the brains and the brawns. It all sounded so simple. But nothing dared to be fucking  _ simple _ on this Earth. 

_ Who the hell are you kidding? _

As if someone as smart and shiny and beautiful and  _ good _ as Felicity fucking Smoak would ever be interested in… the  _ evil  _ Black Siren. 

Fuck, like she’d ever even agree to a real date. If anything Felicity was a thousand times more lucky to say—

“No.”

_ “Hmm?” _ Laurel was cast out of her thoughts. Felicity had turned around and was looking straight at her, pointing over to her clothes on the bed. 

“I said, ‘and, no.’ To the chip question,” said Felicity. “It’s superstition. Even a woman of science isn’t immune to a mother’s influence, ha! And, by the way, the myth that you have to consecrate a marriage for it to be real is  _ super _ amatonormative.” 

_ Amato-what?  _ Laurel bit her lip. “Oh, right—”

“Could you get those for me?” 

They said in unison. Laurel’s arms sputtered in a nervous tic, her nails digging quietly into her mirroring elbow-pit. Felicity giggled, echoing her words in that sweetened voice of hers. Her tone was always so patient with Laurel; ever since they became friends, at least. Laurel would never have guessed that Felicity would come to care about her. Laurel just barely cared about herself, but somehow she’d wormed into the good graces of a woman who hated her. 

Not that it meant anything to her or something.

Laurel reached over and grabbed the clothes on the bed. She almost fell to her knees, but Felicity took her by the hips and pulled her from the brink. Laurel stood wobbly in place for a second, peering down at the shirtless woman with wide eyes. Feigning annoyance in her tone, she straightened before Felicity noticed her hesitance. “Here you are.” 

“Great!” Felicity turned and lifted her arms. Laurel was confused for a moment, until she realized with a slump of her shoulders that Felicity expected her to put it on her.  _ You’re going to be the death of me,  _ thought Black Siren. Overwatch slipped inside the sleeves as Laurel undid her ponytail.

Felicity gave her a confused look in the mirror. 

“You look hotter when you have your hair down,” she explained. “I mean— not hotter, but a different version of hot. Like, hot-sexy instead of hot-cute. Like, I don’t know,  _ fuckable, _ y’know?” 

With a slow flash of her dimples, Felicity swung around quickly. Their faces brushed against each other. The close proximity made Black Siren widen her eyes.

Felicity was humming their song again. “It sounds like you know.” 

Laurel tried to smirk down at her, as if simply taunting Felicity instead of daydreaming about her touch. 

_ Friends fuck with each other, they don’t  _ actually _ fuck. She’s just playing with you, got it? You know, banter? The thing  _ friends _ do? _

_ You never did have any real friends, did you? _

_ And now you’re going to ruin the only friendship you’ve ever had. Good job, me. _

Laurel forced a chuckle. “I feel like we’re going to prom.” She falsely hoped Felicity didn’t catch the change of subject.

Felicity went still for a second, that smile still caught on her face. She turned her head down, and Laurel hoped she didn’t see how relieved Laurel looked. She gently combed her left-sided hair behind her ear.

“I… never got to go to my prom,” she admitted softly. “I was too focused on getting a ticket out of Las Vegas.  _ Ticket _ meaning a college scholarship. Away from my mom and everything she represented. I mean, it was a  _ miracle _ I got accepted into MIT, considering I would have  _ definitely _ been charged for stealing parts of tech I found lying about—totally  _ not _ owned by anyone, or anything, heh,  _ nope— _ if Mom hadn’t slept with the arresting officer.”

“What?”

_ “... Yeah!” _ Felicity blinked in shock at what she rambled out. “A-and it would’ve been  _ especially _ bad, considering I’m tra—  _ I mean, _ because, uh,  _ reasons! _ Haha, what a weird way to say  _ reasons,  _ right?  _ Anyways! _ Um, I walked on eggshells for the rest of the year until I went to college. Then I finally started having  _ fun.” _

_ You don’t need drugs and boys and ways to hack into NASA to be fun, Felicity.  _ Laurel wanted to say.  _ You’re sharp all the time, Brainy. You’re fucking perfect. _

“That’s motherfucking depressing,” is what came out instead.

“‘Motherfucking!’” Felicity’s head shot back up. “I see what you did there.”

Laurel combed Felicity’s hair under her other ear. “Nice to be appreciated for once,” she faked scorn she knew would rile even the most sharp-eyed smartass. 

It worked.  _ “I appreciate you _ all the time!” 

Laurel peered down at her. “I know, I know, I know,” she taunted, and slipped her tongue between her teeth, grinning. “It’s truly a pain to be this awesome.”

“Did you just say ‘awesome?’” Felicity echoed. Staring into Laurel’s twinkling eyes, she gasped and crossed her arms. “Frak you! You’re like an evil mastermind!”

She shrugged. “I think  _ you’re _ the mastermind, babe. I just like fucking with you. Maybe even a murderous, manipulative metahuman doppelgänger from another universe isn’t immune to  _ your _ influence, Ms. Smoak.”

Felicity perked up. “Mrs. Smoak.”

“... Right,” Felicity’s eyes squinted, calculating Laurel’s words carefully. “That’s what I meant.”

They hummed together in silence for a minute. Laurel didn’t know what to do with herself. She hated feeling this god-damn nervous. What the fuck did she have to be nervous about? Nothing was going on between them.  _ Nothing.  _ She had to stop wishing there was.

Felicity spoke softly. “What was your prom like?”

Laurel felt a hangover sneaking up on her just thinking about it. “Prom was the best night of my life,” she paused and bit her lip. “My Quentin had already kicked the can. Mom was too depressed to take care of us. My Sara and I were bouncing around foster homes. We got separated. It wasn’t rare for that to happen. We always ran away within the week, met up at the same spot, tried getting away. One time, I landed in this one district without her. They had this program for foster kids to go to prom, even if they didn’t go to the school. It was a richer neighborhood, but fuck me if all the shit wasn’t made by born-and-raised cheapskates.”

“And…  _ this _ is your favorite memory?” Felicity wondered. “Now  _ that’s _ depressing, Laurel—”

“No, no, no,” Laurel put her finger to Felicity’s mouth. “Let me finish, alright? Sure, the stuff broke, but this a rich neighborhood, with rich parents, meaning rich kids. Also known as emotionally stunted teens who have resulted to open rebellion to fight for a sliver of daddy’s attention. Meaning—”

“The booze was top-notch?”

“Exactly.” Laurel put her hand on Felicity’s shoulder. “That was the first time I’d gotten drunk. Partied with the elites, found a pretty lady who took lil ol’ me back to her motherfucking  _ mansion. _ Lived like a queen that night. Free booze, free food, free weed, free p—”

“Don’t say it.” 

Laurel scrunched her face. “... That was, uh… the first time I saw what I could have. I could rise through the ranks and live exactly like that girl I met. That’s when I decided to do anything to be important, so that I would never have to starve or hurt or  _ lose... _ again.”

Felicity frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a very good ending.”

“Yeah. I, uh... it really doesn’t, huh?”

Felicity thought for a moment. Then she took Laurel by the hands and pressed them firmly on her hips.

“W-wait— what are you doing, weirdo?”

“New prom night!” She shouted. “It’s a redo!”

“I think I’ve had enough switching timelines for one lifetime.”

“Your  _ average _ redo.” Felicity lifted her arms so her wrists laid on Laurel’s shoulders. “What could be better than fake prom with my favorite girl?”

Felicity grew taller on her tiptoes, her gaze flashing from the hold of Laurel’s eyes to Laurel’s lips. Suddenly she was humming off-key, grinning doofishly. Laurel squawk-laughed, tapping her foot against the floor. She relished the sound of Felicity’s singing voice.

Felicity’s legs danced in place.  _ “When the hope of morning starts to fade in me . . .” _

Black Siren joined her, as thoughtless as she was breathless.  _ “I won’t dare let darkness have it’s way with me . . .” _

She laughed out taunts when Felicity skipped the next lines with  _ something, something…  _ “You don’t know the fucking words!” 

“Do, too!” 

“Prove it, then, bitch!”

“I  _ can’t!” _

The two giggled anxiously among themselves. Felicity looked at her like she was waiting for something. Waiting for  _ what?  _ Felicity’s forehead gently landed on Laurel’s. She cocked a playful eyebrow. 

Laurel swallowed, accidentally glancing down.  _ Is she ever going to put pants on?  _ She looked up at the ceiling.  _ Or at least button her shirt? _

Before she could finish her train of thought, she flinched. There was a hand quickly tilting Laurel’s chin. The hand moved to her cheekbone… then there was pressure on her lips. Her whole body sputtered in surprise when Felicity Smoak kissed her.

Laurel melted into Felicity immediately, pulling her closer, holding her face tighter, biting her lip harder— she forgot everything in existence, and for a few glorious moments, all the world consisted of was  _ this. _

Then she felt Felicity’s hand grasp her own, and everything came crashing back. 

_ She’s married. _

_ She’s confused. _

_ You’re taking advantage of her. _

_ She wishes you were her Laurel. _

_ She wishes you were Oliver. _

_ She wishes you were anybody else. _

_ You don’t deserve her. _

_ They’re going to hate you for this. _

In a millisecond, Laurel became painfully aware of reality. Felicity and Oliver were Team Arrow’s resident power-couple. Splitting them up would be like spitting in the team’s face.

_ No one will trust you again. _

_ You’re going to be alone again. _

Laurel took Felicity’s hands and pushed her into the closet.

_ It’s all your fault.  _

Laurel stepped back sloppily, trying to remember how to get out of the building. Felicity looked at her, worried and confused, a question on her lips; the same lips Laurel was pressed against seconds before. She reached out to cup Laurel’s wrist, but she jumped away.

“I-I have to go.” She was already out of the bedroom. “I have work to do.”

“Laurel, wait!” She could hear Felicity following her to the front door. “What’s  _ wrong?” _

Laurel barely heard how loud the door slamming behind her was. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Felicity asked, quietly through the wall between them.

Laurel’s heartbeat was dangerously quick, and her feet quicker still— her thoughts were rambling and her chest ached for Felicity to kiss her again. “You could never do anything wrong,” she whispered. It didn’t stop her feet from stomping down the stairs.

_ You idiot! How could you do this? You were supposed to be a friend to her, you fucking moron! You just ruin everything, don’t you? Why can’t you listen? Why can’t you be satisfied? _

_ You’re broken. _

_ And she can’t fucking fix you. It’s not her job to fix you. _

_ What have you done? _

The thoughts wouldn’t stop stabbing at her. Felicity would tell the entire team about this, wouldn’t she? They were friends. 

_ Friends! _

The team would hate her. No one would ever even like her again. 

_ No one liked you anyways. _

Sara would never talk to her, Oliver would never let her work another case, she would have to leave Quentin— her life was destroyed. 

_ Go back, go back. _

How had she fucked everything up in such a short amount of time? __

_ She kissed you first. _

Laurel would be chased off to her original universe, a place of rot and war. What would she become if she was there again? She couldn’t be alone again. What if Felicity was alone again? She couldn’t abandon her. 

_ She wanted it, right? _

She wouldn’t  _ let _ Felicity abandon her. 

_ Christ, what’s wrong with you? _

...

_ What the fuck? _

The rain shook Laurel to her core. She was finally outside the building. She pulled in gasp after gasp of the cold night air. No matter how much she breathed, she couldn’t stop shivering. 

_ What the fuck did you do? _

Laurel stuck her hands in her pockets and composed herself. She buried the feelings deep, deep down, telling herself it would all be fine. It wasn’t a big deal. Nothing is a big deal. She’s fine, everything’s fine, Felicity was fine. She had to be fine. Should she go back? 

_ Don’t make it worse, Laurel. _

Laurel crossed the street.

_ It was a one-time thing.  _

She should be grateful she ever got to kiss Felicity at all. She shouldn’t need anything more than her hugs and friend-dates. Anything else was just greedy, wasn’t it? Couldn’t Laurel be glad that Felicity found love with Oliver? She felt all weird inside when she saw Felicity smile at Oliver. Not a bad-weird. She liked when Felicity smiled, even if she wasn’t the one who told the joke. That  _ should _ be enough. 

Laurel forced herself to not glance at Felicity’s window. She was afraid the other woman would be looking down at her, and Laurel wouldn’t be able to ignore Felicity’s sad eyes. 

Why would Felicity be upset?

Felicity was just confused, that was all. It’s something she should talk to her husband about.

_ Like you know Felicity’s sexuality better than she does? She never mentioned liking girls. _

_ She does know a lot of lesbians. _

_ … _

_ And she never had to look up directions for the gay bars. _

_ She’d gone before. _

Laurel looked both ways and crossed again, trying to get to her office.

_ Didn’t she say her friends dragged her along? She was probably being supportive, that’s it. Pipe the fuck down, Nancy Drew. _

Laurel looked up from her feet. She jumped when she saw Oliver walking out of the restaurant in front of her. She was frozen in place, thinking about all the ways he could ruin her. Someone followed him out.

“So Felicity is with Black Siren right now?” asked Barry Allen. 

Right, Laurel reminded herself,  _ Ollie’s with the Flash tonight. _ They probably went out for drinks—

Her confusion swallowed her even more as she watched them come out of the gay bar she and Felicity were supposed to hit first.

“Apparently she ran out of the apartment,” Oliver said. 

Barry smiled. “Should I sweep the streets?” 

_ Why are they talking about me? _

Oliver politely declined. “This is more of a ‘come-willingly’ intervention thing.” 

“Right,” Barry laughed. “Well, tell your wife no one in their right mind would reject her.”

Laurel’s breathing hitched. 

“Including you?”

“Oh, absolutely,” he teased. “I mean, I saw her in her bra once.”

“So did Caitlin and Cisco,” snickered Oliver, putting his arm around Barry. Laurel wasn’t used to seeing him act  _ sweet. _ He was typically so composed and fucking  _ angry _ when she was around. “Not very romantic, I’d say.”

_ “Oh, _ how dare you!” Barry scoffed jokingly. “You’re just jealous.”

“Yeah, I’m super jealous about that one time you teleported my shirtless wife into Star Labs and all our friends saw her bra. I am the  _ epitome _ of jealous.”

“That one time?” He grinned. “You’re not jealous about all the other times?”

Oliver scowled.

Barry let a laugh escape him. “Speaking of Team Flash,” he said, which got a fond eye-roll from Oliver. “My  _ own _ wife and I have a date-night tomorrow. Wanna come? Iris says you can bring Felicity.”

“Can Felicity have a plus-one?”

“You sound confident that this will all be cleared up by tomorrow.”

Oliver tugged on his green sweater to help resist the cold. “That’s the plan. Don’t you believe in my charms?” He shook his head. “I’m _ hurt.” _

“Sadly, playboy, your charms have melted into pure stubbornness since Lian Yu.” 

“Now that’s just rude,” pouted the vigilante. Laurel never took him for a ‘pout’ type of guy. Was he only like this around people he liked and trusted? 

_ So, good news, me, you didn’t ruin anything; no one fucking trusted you in the first place! _

Barry smirked. He pulled off his red hoodie, clearly not the type of guy that bothered to be embarrassed by his pale pink shirt. It reminded Laurel of Felicity’s flannel jacket. She felt a pang in her gut at the thought of her.

He fit the hoodie on Oliver’s back and curled his fingers on the strings. Laurel didn’t like how close the two men were standing. Barry perked up at Oliver, who looked back at him with the same warm gaze he looked at Felicity with. 

“Let me make it up to you,” the Flash said, and filled the gap between them.

Laurel dashed behind the building. 

_ What the fuck is going on? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Barry's a main character in the next chap so if you haven't seen the Flash uh get ready to be spoiled. The entire Arrowverse (well not all the characters but all the shows) is heavily mentioned/seen in the very last chapter so don't read unless you want spoilers. As always most of my sexuality/genders headcanons aren't included in canon but I poured as much of them into this fic so yeah get ready for THAT. anyways have fun


	2. Black Sheep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They didn’t look mad at her. Just tired of answering questions like this. I’m sorry, Laurel thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stayed up til almost 5 on a school night for this. almost take a shot everytime i say fuck/ing

Laurel cupped her mouth. It was the only thing stopping her from releasing a Siren Cry straight into Oliver Queen’s eardrums. Murdering the woman you made out with’s husband wouldn’t be a good look, no matter how much she wanted to. She could feel her body rattling with anger, shock setting into her gaze. Her teeth were barred behind her hands. Meanwhile, her mind whirled.

_ That cheating scumbag! How could he do this to Felicity? What the fuck is wrong with him? He’s fucking broken. Even more than you. He’s a liar, he doesn’t care about her, how can he fucking do this— _

Her thoughts did a quick switch. 

_ Did she know this was happening? Was she trying to get back at him? Does that sound like a very  _ Felicity _ thing to do? _

_ Apparently you don’t know her as well as you thought. _

“Love you, Oliver!” Barry called, and suddenly Laurel’s hair whipped in the wind the Flash sent her way.

She heard Oliver huff to himself as his lover zipped by Star City. “You, too, Barry.”

Her head screamed louder at the words.

_ How fucking  _ dare _ he? What, he’d trapped Felicity as his beard or something? _

Then Laurel remembered Felicity’s soft touch, the way she coaxed Laurel into her bedroom. How Felicity had danced with her and finally, kissed her, after Laurel spent so much time bottling her feelings for her only friend. 

It all seemed like such a waste. Felicity had stolen Laurel’s defenses within days, and Laurel just wanted to melt into her. What did that even mean? That Felicity was going to sweep her into a wedding dress and Oliver would scoop the Flash into fucking a tux? 

God, what was happening? Had Star City’s great power-couple turned to the rainbow side overnight? Were they fucking swingers now?

_ What the fuck is going on? _

“Hey, yeah,” Oliver said. “Okay! Okay—”

_ God-fucking dammit, dumbass, you’re supposed to have super-hearing! Stop thinking about yourself for one fucking minute, you selfish asshole, focus on the only person you give a shit about’s cheating husband. _

Laurel risked a glance to the sidewalk. “Felicity, calm down, alright?” He said into his phone. In a rush to get home and  _ lie to Felicity’s fucking face, _ he started coming Laurel’s way to cross the street. “Yeah, you’re spiralling, honey,” _ —Oliver calls her  _ honey?  _ Really? Who  _ is _ he? And also what the fuck, why does anyone call anyone honey?— _ “look, I bought you a few, uh, dozen or so mint chip pints in case something went wrong. I told you, by the way. Right, not helping, sorry. Yeah, in the freezer. And I’ve already got the Netflix page on your favorite episode of Game of Thrones. I don’t get why you guys like that show, but texting Barry and Cisco about it always cheers you up. And, hey, maybe next time, just ask her on a date, yeah? You don’t need any big romantic gesture to seduce Laurel.”

_ They planned this?  _

Laurel threw herself back a bit as Oliver passed. “I know she’s not  _ my  _ Laurel, Felicity, but I’m still right! Black Siren doesn’t seem too keen on dramatic love confessions— F-Felicity?  _ Felicity?”  _

His hand dropped from his ear and he frowned. 

_ She hung up on him.  _

Laurel almost snickered.

He looked both ways and, before he could cross, Laurel made a split-second decision. Suddenly she jumped the Green Arrow, dragging his arm behind his back and pinning it harshly, bone against bone.

He grunted. “Nice to see you, too, Laurel.”

Laurel found it odd he resisted the urge to fight back. “How long have you known I was there?” 

“Since you first showed,” Oliver confirmed. “I know someone had walked up behind us. Barry saw you first and told me with his, uh, super-speed.” 

“Of course.” Laurel rolled her eyes. “What’s the game here, Ollie? Some kink thing?”

She hated that it even crossed her mind. She didn’t want to be an  _ experiment _ to Felicity. She wanted to be something  _ real.  _ A part of her told her it was too good to be true. Another, smaller, more broken part dared to dream.

Oliver stiffened, scoffing through a chuckle. “That’s not my field.” 

“Don’t play dumb,” she hissed. “You fucking  _ knew! _ What the hell are you all up to?”

Oliver tried to turn to look at her, but Laurel twisted his arm. Before he gave out a yelp, Laurel spotted confusion on his face. 

_ Put the pieces together, Laurel, come on! _

“You don’t know,” Oliver said. It wasn’t a question. “No one told you directly enough. You’re new to this Earth, you would have mistaken it for this world’s quirks.  _ That’s _ why you left her.” 

He shook his head in disbelief. “Because you don’t _ know.” _

“Know _what?”_ Laurel growled. Oliver obviously stitched together a working theory. What was she being left out of? She was tired of being the only one who didn’t get the fucking joke. _“Tell_ _me,_ Oliver!” 

“Okay! Okay,” he sighed. His chin fell and he inhaled, gathering courage, Laurel guessed.

Then there was a flash of color that flew past. Laurel’s head snapped in its direction. A sharp pain gutted her stomach; Oliver’s elbow had jabbed her. He ducked her Cry and kicked at her feet. She dodged it and went to slam his chin— but he flew forward and pushed her to the ground. 

When Laurel went to get up, there was a weight pressing on her chest that made her fall. The fucking Flash was  _ sitting _ on her.

“Hey, not-evil-anymore Laurel!” Barry grinned. He didn’t even have the decency to act conceited. “Been a while, right?”

“I will fucking deafen you.”

Barry laughed. “I know you like to think you would—” 

Oliver knelt to her level. “But Felicity would never forgive you for that.” 

“Aw, look, you finish each other’s sentences!” Laurel mocked. “How  _ cute.” _

Barry stuck his tongue out at Oliver. “I know, right?” 

“You don’t understand sarcasm, did you, Allen?”

His bright face flagged for a moment.

Oliver twisted her arm like she’d done him. “Play nice, Siren.” He ordered through gritted teeth.

Laurel spat in his face. “Play nice with the guys cheating on my best friend?” 

Oliver finally lost his calm build and let anger slip into his voice.  _ “Listen,  _ dammit—” 

Laurel blinked, and in those milliseconds, the Flash managed to swing off and on her. “Oliver, someone’s coming,” Barry warned.

Oliver rose and released his grip from her. With a tilt of Oliver’s head, Barry straightened off her. Laurel shot upright quickly, ready to pounce at the Green Arrow’s legs, to throw him into the streets of Star City. But instead, he offered his hand. “We’ll tell you everything, if you come with us. Deal?”

Laurel glared at him. If she had considered his deal a second longer, the newcomer would have seen a woman laying on the ground while the Mayor walked away. If she had declined, Laurel would imagine the witness would be very keen on admitting she saw the District Attorney attack the mayor.

Laurel brushed her hair back to the left. “Where are we going?”

“Olicity’s,” answered Barry, only confusing Laurel more. She looked at him with annoyed eyes. “Oliver and Felicity’s place.”

“What?” Laurel gaped at Oliver, bitterness seeping through. “You can’t bring your fucking secret lover home! God, what if the kid’s there? Why the fuck would you do that to Felicity?”

“You don’t know my son’s name, do you?” Oliver questioned, at the same time as Barry said, “It’s not a secret.”

The two men exchanged a look. 

A hint of hurt slipped through his words. “It isn’t, is it?” 

“Of course not, Barry!” Oliver said. His tone told Laurel that he was pissed Barry would suggest it. “But _certain_ _things_ aren’t for us to tell.”

Laurel couldn’t hear what their eyes were saying to each other. Probably because they were talking via facial expression and not any god-damn words. Didn’t they say they’d tell her  _ everything?  _ Oliver’s choice of words made it seem she would be left in the dark about something. Maybe many somethings. Why couldn’t they trust her for once?

_ Because you always fuck up, Laurel. You tried to kill them all. You attacked Oliver today. You ran from Felicity. _

_ Fucking Felicity. _

“I-I can’t face her!” Laurel yelled. She stiffened when she realized it hadn’t been in her head.

Oliver quirked an eyebrow. “Nervous, Siren?” 

“No!” Laurel barked quickly. A little too quickly. She saw Oliver’s resentment for her crack in his eyes and the way he held himself. Like, little by little, he was starting to trust her.

Oliver was finally switching to her side, and it made her want to die.

_ This is what you wanted! Fucking isn’t it? Are you satisfied now? Why can’t you make a decision? Do you want them to hate you or love you? Choose for fuck’s sake! _

“I’m… I just don’t  _ get _ it,” she mumbled under her breath. 

Oliver cringed at the mention of mushy, lovey-dovey  _ feelings.  _ His pace quickened so that he was in front of Barry and Laurel, who walked alongside now. Shoot someone with an arrow and he’d be fine, but express  _ emotion _ and suddenly things were comfortable for Mr. Queen. Was that enough to call him a pussy and a coward?

_ Wouldn’t you be a coward, too, then? _

Barry cheerfully replied. “Don’t get what?” 

Laurel rolled her eyes at his chirper tone. She crossed her arms, her fingertips nervously pushing into her skin. 

“... Why does she like me?” She finally asked, quiet enough that Barry heard it only scarcely. Laurel crossed her arms and squeezed her shoulders, anxiously glaring at the street.

He awkwardly rubbed his undercut. “I, uh, don’t…  _ know?  _ I’m not her, and I don’t know you that well. But she does talk about you a lot. She says you’re funny and collected, and you make her feel safe and dangerous at the same time.  _ ‘Secured with the confidence to protect herself.’ _ She says that she likes how you always look so bored with, uh, literally everything. She says that she never appreciated the art of  _ smirking _ until she met you,” he laughed. 

Laurel glanced at him with a smug glare, her mouth pulling into its natural position at the mention. 

Barry nodded. “Just like that!” Then he leaned into her ear, whispering as he cocked his head in Oliver’s direction. “And, honestly? I think she’s got a thing for leather.”

Laurel had to look down to suppress her amusement. But the Flash caught it, and happily skipped along, as if...  _ proud.  _

They were at Felicity’s doormat in an instant. The wood frame was already opening. In an instant, she whispered, “Wait, were you just waiting to do that until I calmed down?” 

Barry sweeped the apartment when Oliver stepped in. “William’s still at René’s.” He promised. Oliver nodded his thanks.

Felicity jumped. She was cozied up on the couch, her laptop on her chest and three finished cups of ice cream on the coffee table. Game of Thrones sounded on the TV.

The smart-house announced her name last. Black Siren followed its call.

“Laurel!” She put the laptop on the table and the blanket fell from her. It revealed the clothes she had picked out for the gay bar. She had put on pants and buttoned the shirt, though. Laurel’s shoulders slumped, cursing herself for feeling disappointed. At least, her hair was still down, effortlessly shining on covered shoulders.

“Hey.” Laurel said with forced poise.

“H-Hey,” Felicity swallowed. She looked to Oliver and Barry for support. “Um, what’s up, guys?” 

Oliver took the seat next to his wife, his feet planted firmly on the ground, like he expected Laurel to try and topple him. Barry sat opposed to him, fitting himself on the armrest, pulling one of his knees to his chest. Laurel was the only one awkwardly standing. 

Barry pointed his chin at her. “Laurel here thinks I’m Oliver’s secret lover.”

_ “Um?” _ Felicity laughed, turning her head to Laurel. Realization dawned her expression, and her gaze flew back and forth from the three. “Holy frak, she doesn’t  _ know?” _

Oliver nodded slightly. “She thought straight girls called their friends their girlfriend all the time.” 

“I mean, they kind of  _ do—” _

Oliver shook his head at Barry and Felicity offered him a smile that said  _ not helping.  _ Barry culled his sentence, his own beam never breaking. 

“But, yeah,” he agreed. “It’s weird she didn’t get the clues.”

“Jesus  _ fucking _ Christ!” Laurel adjusted her leather jacket. “Get  _ what?!  _ I’m tired of being the fucking black sheep! What the hell are you talking about?”

The three of them shared a glance. Oliver inched closer to Felicity, making their knees touch, and Barry’s hand had been on hers since he sat down.

“We’re, um… we’re in a…” Felicity closed her eyes. “Wow, this was  _ so  _ much easier when I thought you already knew.”

“It’s okay,” Barry said.

Oliver’s own hands were tensely rubbing together at the palm. “You don’t need to tell her if you don’t want to.”

Felicity seemed to tell him something with her eyes. 

_ I wish people would try using English for once. _

Then Felicity took Oliver’s hand and squeezed the one Barry held. “We’re a throuple,” she admitted quickly. “An open, polyam throuple. We’re in a polycule with Team Flash. We are polyamorous people.”

Laurel’s blink was slow. “I…”

“It means we’re romantically involved,” Barry explained. Even his kind voice wasn’t enough to stop the shock that bolted through Laurel.

“What— what does that  _ mean?” _

Oliver sighed. “Okay. Felicity and I are in love, right? And we’re married, right? I love her romantically, she loves me romantically. But she also likes you romantically, Laurel. And we also both  _ romantically _ love Barry. And he loves Iris that way. Those two plus Felicity both love Cisco Ramon that way, who loves Ralph Dibny, Kamilla Hwang and Sue Dearbon sort of like that way. Barry and Iris are also in a long distance relationship with Patty Spivot, who is also with Caitlin Snow, who’s dating her alter Killer Frost and Felicity. Okay?”

“... Okay,” Laurel muttered quietly.

“Okay,” Oliver nodded, not seeming to care that she wasn’t exactly processing his words yet. “And— prepare yourself for this, alright? You prepared? I love none of them sexually.”

The words finally struck a chord with Laurel. The importance of what he was trusting her with crashed on the reformed villain. She averted her gaze, afraid she had been staring for too long. “... Not even Felicity?”

“Not even Felicity.” Oliver agreed. “I’m biromantic asexual.”

Laurel finally understood what Felicity had said about  _ ‘not needing to’ _ consecrate their marriage. “... But you were a man-whore,” she uttered. 

“That was high school.” 

“So you weren’t asexual in high school?”

“No, that’s not— I was always ace, Siren, okay? Just like how you were always gay even before you knew it—” 

_ I always knew it. _

“I was just in denial about it then. I, um, I first came out to Laurel—  _ our _ Laurel.” 

Black Siren lowered her head at the mention of Earth-One Laurel Lance. 

_ What a saint the dead woman was. Especially in comparison to you. Educated, friendly. She fucking knew what was going on with her friends. You’re too stupid for that, huh? _

He didn’t notice. 

_ Or, if he did, he doesn’t care. _

Despite what her thoughts claimed, he patted on the coffee table, and Laurel paused before slowly sitting in front of the three. 

He continued. “She took it well. My father didn’t. So I decided to try to change what I was. I invited Sara to the Gambit, and… and, yeah. I went through everything and finally got back and thought, fuck it.”

“Non-literally,” Barry joked. This time, Oliver didn’t have the energy to suppress a small smile.

“And I came out.”

Laurel’s mouth felt too dry. “... As asexual.”

“As  _ all of it,”  _ he breathed. “Bi, polyam, ace. That’s who I am, Laurel. That is what’s happening.”

Felicity cleared her throat.  _ “Part  _ of what’s happening.”

Barry looked to Laurel. “Do you understand this?”

“I... I don’t know, honestly. Asexual means you don’t want to fuck anyone, right? Like you don’t have sexual, uh, tension? Or attraction? Something or other. But polyamorous means you . . . ?”

Felicity smiled. “It means you love many.”

“... And are you ace, Felicity?”

“Nope! I’m bisexual. I’m attracted to multiple genders.”

“Barry?”

“Pansexual. I’m into all genders.”

Laurel frowned. “Uh, what’s the—”

“Difference?” Barry guessed. He didn’t look mad at her. Just tired of answering questions like this.  _ I’m sorry.  _ “Well, I’m gender-blind, which means that gender isn’t a factor into my romantic or sexual attraction. Bisexuals can be into the same people as pansexuals, but bis are typically more, like, gendered, I guess? I don’t know. It’s the label I chose, thus it’s the one I am. Isn’t it enough for pansexual to feel more right for me than bisexual?”

“O-Of course,” Laurel stammered.. In that moment, she decided that she would defend Barry Allen, with everything she had. As far as she was concerned, he was her new best friend.

“And bisexual feels more right for  _ me _ than pan.” Felicity said.

_ Hey, if you’re going to have a new best friend, then what will Felicity be for you now? _

She loved to see Felicity so happy, even if she hadn’t told the joke. She loved to hold her hand, even if she had a ring that wasn’t hers. She didn’t need to be Felicity’s one and only. That was too much pressure. She didn’t like the idea of Oliver being out of the picture, either, because he just made Felicity so giggly, and Laurel wouldn’t pass that up for the world. 

Laurel wasn’t going to be left out anymore. She wasn’t the black sheep of the group, they wanted her now.  _ Felicity _ wanted her. She wanted to be one of Felicity’s many loves.

“Why are you smiling?” Felicity asked, quickly sprouting one herself.

_ “Because,”  _ Laurel leaned forward, tilting Felicity’s chin towards her own like Felicity had done with her. “I understand now.” And replaced the space between them.

Laurel relished in the way Oliver looked away; not like he was opposed to the scene next to him, but how his gaze was speaking to her.  _ Thank you for making her happy.  _ She could see Barry grin down at them; she guessed he was making up ship names for the two. 

Laurel kissed Felicity like the way she wished she’d done earlier. Felicity’s hands were entangled with her boyfriends, but she didn’t mind— it left enough bravery in her for Laurel to go  _ wild.  _ She bit down on Felicity’s bottom lip, she pulled her face closer with her grasp, she tugged on the other woman’s collar, and watched Felicity melt into her grasp. This whole thing must have taken so many nights of planning and flirting. Felicity never failed to impress. Laurel had simply duped herself with how much her mind hated her, that she hadn’t considered the signs. Felicity Smoak had been waiting to kiss her for as long as Laurel had.

Then she pulled away.

_ “No you don’t,” _ she breathed, “you don’t know  _ everything _ yet.” 

Laurel froze in place for a second. She leaned backwards, her hands harshly gripping the coffee table. Her glare was enough to make Barry’s smile falter. “... What’s left, then?”

Barry finally gave Laurel a glare. He held Felicity’s hand tighter. “You don’t have to say anything.” 

Oliver almost mirrored Barry’s expression, but he was a thousand times more sour. “I can kick her out.”

“Boys, it’s okay.” Felicity said. “I want her to know.” 

Laurel always knew she had their friends wrapped around her finger. She calmed them with ease.

Barry nodded, his supportive smile returning. Oliver again forced himself solemn. Both their faces said,  _ whatever you want. _

Laurel swallowed her bitterness. She hated the idea that Felicity hadn’t been comfortable to say  _ everything _ before Laurel kissed her again. It made her feel humiliated. Laurel knew that she shouldn’t feel that way, that it’s up to Felicity what parts of herself to share, but that didn’t stop her thoughts from yelling that they still didn’t  _ trust _ her.

_ You don’t deserve her trust. _

_ But she loves me. _

_ She doesn’t trust you. How could she love someone she doesn’t trust? _

_ She’s about to tell me. _

_ And what stopped her from telling you before? _

_ … _

Felicity untangled herself from Oliver’s fingers and softly tapped her hand on Laurel’s. Laurel let Felicity guide their hands together, until they gently clasped together.

_ The same thoughts as I’m having now. _

Laurel leaned forward again. Not close enough to kiss her, but enough to easily transition to hug Felicity, if need be. 

_ Whatever this is, it’s important to her. And I’m important to her. That’s why she wants to tell me. _

Laurel took Felicity in for a moment. Why did Laurel even want her so bad? Maybe what allured Laurel at first was Felicity’s industrial piercing. It felt out of place on a shy, non-threatening bottle blonde. She had to learn the hard way that that was what Felicity wanted her to see. That vibe made people underestimate her, and that gave Felicity the upper hand. Laurel was charmed by it. She was charmed by how Overwatch had been a tech prodigy to prove something to her father, by the shocked faces the team displayed when Felicity won all their chips at poker, by just how much time she put into proving others so incredibly, woefully  _ wrong _ about her. Laurel loved that ability, and Felicity made it look  _ so, so _ good.

_ But she’s like me. She has her own demons. Her own asshole of an inner voice.  _

Felicity tried to smile, but it fell before it found footing.

_ That’s what stopped her from telling me.  _

“Uh, okay. I’m going to guess that you probably aren’t going to know what this is?” Felicity mused.

“I don’t know what it is yet,” Laurel droned. “But, yeah, I wouldn’t give myself the benefit of the doubt, Overwatch.”

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool—”

Suddenly Barry blinked out of existence. When he returned not a second later, Oliver was holding an opened pint of ice cream in his hands. When Laurel glanced over her shoulder, she found that the spoon that had been in a finished bowl was now the one being held by Oliver. 

“Eat your mint chip,” he stuck the spoon in his wife’s mouth before she could protest.

Laurel frowned. She sighed, and with her free hand, gently squeezed Felicity’s knee. “Hey, uh… If telling me whatever this is is too much trouble or whatever, then I’ll take the not-knowing. I don’t need you to send yourself into a panic attack for me, Overwatch. I sort of like it when you remember how to breathe,” she joked. For some reason, it was easier to talk about important things when she cracked jokes. Almost as if she’d been emotionally neglected her whole life, or something.

Laurel remembered that when she told Felicity her big, dramatic backstory, she advised it was definitely  _ not _ something. She could tell Felicity understood that pain, the horrifying ordeal it was to be  _ known.  _ She had been funny and gentle. Now she wanted to protect Felicity in the same way.

Supportive smiles escaped the throuple in front of her. 

“We want you to know, Laurel.”

Felicity gulped down the ice cream. She nodded to Oliver, who set the pint down at her signal. Barry and Oliver put their arms over her, and Felicity finally grasped both of Laurel’s hands, and held her tightly.

She took one last inhale. “I’m trans.  _ Transgender. _ Mtf. Male to female. I was assigned male at birth, but I’m  _ not _ male, and I never was, really. I’m a woman. Have been since birth. Well, I was a girl then. I’m a woman now. Because puberty. And stuff. Puberty sucked. I got this terrible bacne. I didn’t do anything about it because I thought it was acne. Then I scratched it and it bled. Turned out to be chronic eczema,” she shook her head.  _ “Anyways!  _ I, um, came out to my mom a bit after my dad left. She was thrilled to have a daughter to go shopping with. She’d always wanted to nickname me ‘baby girl.’ Citizens of Las Vegas, not so much. Most people were mildly tolerable. Some were down-right  _ violent!” _

Felicity’s forced laughter made Laurel’s stomach drop. It echoed in her mind. “... What happened? With the violents?”

Felicity sniffled. “Yeah. Um,” she looked down. “I had gotten my acceptance letter from MIT that morning. Mom was...  _ devastated. _ She hated the idea of not being able to protect me. I got mad. I’d worked so hard for so long, and it was never enough. She always had to get her way. So I started working on an extra credit robotics assignment to distract myself. We were poor and I wasn’t allowed to gamble in the casinos anymore—you rig 1,128 jackpot machines and suddenly you can’t be trusted!”

She sighed.  _ “Anyways, _ I was rummaging for car pieces and the like in my neighbor’s trash. They called the police, said a suspicious  _ man _ was in their yard. I was a short, thin seventeen year-old, no way that guy thought I was an adult man. The trash wasn’t even on their property, it was on the sidewalk! But the officer who came didn’t care. He saw an opportunity to stick it to all us  _ damn special snowflakes.”  _

All four of them shivered with the memories of queerphobic bullies. Some kids, like they were, others grown-ass men. The insults and chases and outbursts. Laurel shook from the pain she remembered from the beatings from foster families, the heartbreak of kissing a girl you couldn’t trust, the helpless way your chest emptied in anticipation when you came out to someone and  _ knew _ within seconds it was the wrong decision. 

Sheepishly, Felicity kept going. “He chased me down, tackled me, pinned me to the ground, and, uh… he beat me. Groped my chest. Broke my leg. Eventually, he threw me into his car—literally  _ threw— _ and we drove down to the station. When my mom got there, I expected her to baby me. But she saw the type of men she was dealing with, and ripped me a new one in front of the cops. She lied and said she was happy they’d beaten some sense into me, but that a charge would ruin my oh-so-manly future. So they worked out a deal. I got a ride to the hospital while they… while Mom did what she had to do to save me, in his office.”

Barry stared at the ground. Oliver’s hands balled. Laurel’s legs shook in place, her mouth flagging with the desire to unleash her Cry. She could feel the fury bubbling in her chest. She knew it grew inside Oliver and even Barry, too. They all hated that Felicity lived in a world where the only way she wouldn’t be abused by the system is through promising a piece of herself in exchange. 

“And when we got home from the hospital, she hugged me and told me,”—her voice changed to an imitation of her mom— _ “‘don’t you dare frak up your life for me, Felicity, or for this city. We don’t deserve it. You’re going places; I know it, baby girl. I feel it in my bones. But you have to  _ live _ long enough to change the world.’” _

Felicity paused. “...But I survived,” she wrung her hands and shook her head with all the defiance pilled inside her. The soft melancholy in her voice fickled out, replaced by something with more hopeful fire. “And Mom survived. Then I got to college and hacked all my legal recordings to show I’d been a woman the whole time. Fell in with a hacktivist crowd. Experimented and realized I’m bisexual and polyamorous. And, uh, that’s what I am.”

Laurel was quiet for a few moments. No one, not even Felicity, dared to look at her. They feared rejection or disgust swimming in her eyes. It was a fear she knew was irrational, and they knew was irrational. But it was conditioned within the most helpless parts of mind. For people who always had  _ someone _ out to get them, it was a way of life.

Laurel considered her reply with caution. “... That’s  _ who _ you are.”

Felicity locked eyes with her. The worry dropped from her expression, and suddenly a big smile found its way to her. “Y-Yeah! That’s  _ who _ I am.”

Laurel slipped next to her on the couch, snuggling between her and Oliver. Him and Barry readjusted themselves, his hand sitting firmly on Felicity’s shoulder, Barry’s arm leaning on Felicity’s back for support. Then Laurel held Felicity’s hand tighter, releasing one to hold her cheek, and kissed her again. This time softer, kinder. Because she trusted that this would only be one in a long line from the woman she loved.

“That’s all, right?” She asked when they drew apart.

“Yes,” grinned Felicity. “That’s it.”

“Good.” Laurel smiled back. “‘Cause I  _ get _ it now. I didn’t before and that’s my fault. You shouldn’t have to be the ones to educate me, and I’m—I’m sorry. I’m not going to say I don’t care if you’re with more people than me. I do care, because the way they love you only makes me love you more. I-I, uh… I love you. And— stuff. I wouldn’t object to being one of your girlfriends—”

Felicity lowered her chin meekly, still staring up at Laurel with those genius eyes. “If you… uh, want me, that is.”

That rustled something in her. Felicity pulled her face into a kiss with both her hands. Laurel gasped, her eyes flashing open, when she felt Felicity’s teeth on her bottom lip. One of Laurel’s hands swept to Felicity’s, while the other tilted the shorter woman’s chin. She could hear Felicity wildly hefting in air. Laurel thrust toward her with wild abandon, letting herself absolutely  _ love _ the feel of her girlfriend. She had a girlfriend. _ Felicity was her girlfriend.  _ And she never wanted it to stop.

Eventually, though, random rasps didn’t have enough air to sustain them. They broke apart, and rested on the boys.

“Have fun, honeys?” Oliver teased.

“The funnest!” squealed Felicity.

Barry adjusted himself so that Felicity could rest her head in his lap. “Looked like it.” 

Laurel splayed herself over Oliver’s side, nudging her hairline just under his chin. “Did you get off watching me mack your wife, Ollie?”

Oliver smiled back. “Not in the slightest.” 

The sound of their shared laughter warmed Laurel. It was a rare and intimate moment she wasn’t used to. She hoped it would never end. 

Laurel realized Game of Thrones was still on. She glanced over at the TV, finding more than a few extra ice cream pints on the coffee table. Barry must have gotten them before Felicity came out to her as trans. 

“Hey… what’dya say we finish up this episode, maybe, I dunno,  _ devour _ all this ice cream or something, and then hit that gay bar. Y’know, the one we were going to meet you boys at if Felicity successfully got into my pants?”

Felicity wrinkled her nose. “I knew you’d figure that out.”

Barry’s hands shook excitedly. “Sounds like a plan!” 

“William won’t be back until tomorrow morning.” Oliver reached over and tiredly met Felicity’s fingertips with his own. “Why not?”

Laurel grabbed four containers and passed them along. Barry rounded by in a fog of red, and when he returned it was like he never left. The only evidence was the new spoons in the ice cream.

“Good boy, Allen.” She leered up at him and tangled her legs with Felicity’s, before leaning back on Oliver. “So what the fuck is this show about?”

Barry and Felicity jumped to answer. They rambled off each other, too excited to notice the fond smirks she shared with the man who used to hate her. 

Laurel happily kissed Felicity’s hand. 

_ Isn’t it amazing how quickly things can change? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally so different. Maybe check that out in my works, titled "Fanfic scraps." Anyways, it was hard writing this chapter. I felt like Laurel was being too chill at it's first draft. I wanted Laurel to connect with Felicity, Barry and Oliver in a way she didn't know she could before. Also can anybody tell me the significance of 1,128? Hint; it's an important date in Felicity's life! The epilogue chapter will be out either this week or next week, it does a quick time jump and shows Laurel's new relationships with Team Arrow, Team Flash, Felicity, and even a bit of William (contrary to Oliver's belief, she does know their son's name) after months spent dating Felicity.


	3. Epilogue to a Siren Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Jesus fuck,” Laurel breathed. “It’s glorious.” 
> 
> The teams were already piled inside. It looked like the teenage version of a dinner party. Crude rock songs were being sung at a karaoke stand. A short-haired brunette was offering free tattoos next to the stage. All the chairs were lined up at the bar-bar and the left-over tables held racks of fast food. There were pride flags galore hung on almost every part of the walls. Some had been stolen from their sloppy nail hooks and were being passed around by partygoers; Laurel caught Thea Queen’s joyfriend Sin wearing the non-binary colors like a cape. Even the bartenders themselves—Mari McCabe and Kuasa, Laurel believed, the Vixen sisters—had risked taking a few. Mari wore an aromantic flag as a wristband on her left, with an asexual one on her right. Kuasa fitted herself around a lesbian flag like it was belt. People were laughing, screaming, chugging; anything to occupy themselves. The place was overcrowded and threatened to shake. Black Siren doubted everyone was even there yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry this is late. I'm not good with dates or numbers or processing the passage of time. Never assume I've abandoned a fic (if i do ever post a multi-chaptered fic again, that is), it's way more likely I think it's been like 2 days since I uploaded when it's actually been a week or so. Anyways this is the chapter will a bunch of queer headcanons, crossover characters and the time skip! If you're curious, the last chapters take place somewhere in season six of Arrow. This would be in Arrow's ninth season if it had continued. lots of words here so. Fun fact this "epilogue" is 37 pages in google docs

Laurel woke up to the beautiful sound of Felicity fucking up in the kitchen.

“Felicity, what did— that’s not how you make pancakes!” Oliver was saying.

 _“Fix it!”_ Felicity cried. “What did I do wrong?”

“Well, for one,” William said, “it’s not supposed to be on fire.”

Laurel blinked open her eyes. She had slept at Felicity’s last night, binging Game of Thrones. Laurel had already seen all of it by now, but another look never hurt anybody.

Laurel rolled off the bed, landing on the ground with a superhero stance. She stretched up and stuffed her hands in her sweatpants pockets, before walking out into the kitchen.

“Hey.”

Felicity screamed as she threw a rag over a flaming pan. “Hi!”

“Good morning, Laurel,” greeted the polywog. Apparently, _polywogs_ was the name for the children of a polycule. _Polycule_ was everyone romantically, sexually or queerplatonically involved.

_Hey, look at you, using correct terminology and shit. Good for me._

Laurel ruffled William’s hair. “Mornin’, Wanda.” It was a running joke between them that Laurel didn’t know his name, so she called him something similar instead. It made the kid laugh.

She let out a siren cry that killed the fire. When the sound died, she raised her head proudly, nodding at the man before her. “Ollie.”

“Siren.” Oliver gingerly took the rag off the pan, deadpanning down at smoking, black and bubbly pancake batter. There was a single burnt candle inside that the batter was eating.

Felicity sighed, flashing Laurel a big, bright smile that made her skip a beat. Things were so smooth now, so familiar. Laurel had started looking up lists upon lists of orientations, ever since that very first night. Now no one had to explain themselves to her. Laurel was trying to become as in-the-know as she could. It was partly for Felicity’s sake, but Laurel found that she actually liked learning more about her community.

She didn’t realize she had had a community before Felicity opened her eyes.

Felicity waved jazz hands. “Happy birthday!”

Laurel did a double-take when she saw the bar. The polycule had gathered their resources and reserved it for the night, so it was big enough for everyone. It was half Laurel’s birthday party, half a reunion. Even people that weren’t linked were coming, just so Laurel could meet the allies.

“Jesus fuck,” Laurel breathed. “It’s glorious.” 

The teams were already piled inside. It looked like the teenage version of a dinner party. Crude rock songs were being sung at a karaoke stand. A short-haired brunette was offering free tattoos next to the stage. All the chairs were lined up at the _bar_ -bar and the left-over tables held racks of fast food. There were pride flags galore hung on almost every part of the walls. Some had been stolen from their sloppy nail hooks and were being passed around by partygoers; Laurel caught Thea Queen’s joyfriend Sin wearing the non-binary colors like a cape. Even the bartenders themselves—Mari McCabe and Kuasa, Laurel believed, the Vixen sisters—had risked taking a few. Mari wore an aromantic flag as a wristband on her left, with an asexual one on her right. Kuasa fitted herself around a lesbian flag like it was belt. People were laughing, screaming, chugging; anything to occupy themselves. The place was overcrowded and threatened to shake. Black Siren doubted everyone was even there yet.

Felicity was right next to her, her hands on William’s shoulders while Oliver’s arm draped over his wife, trying not to touch the elbow Laurel was resting on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

She smiled. “Welcome to The Hold Up! Kate Kane let us borrow it for the night. She’s the one giving out tattoos,” she leaned to whisper, “I actually got mine from her, you know.”

Laurel flushed at the mention of her girlfriend’s hidden mark, an infinity heart; the polyam symbol. “Batwoman, right. Is she in the polycule? I can never remember.”

“Yeah, she’s dating my girlfriend Caitlin—you’ve met her before—and Kara Danvers, who is Supergirl, and Lena Luthor, who’s also with Kara, and both Julia Pennyworth and Sophie Moore, who’re with each other too.”

“I love that I only know who one of those people are.”

“This… party,” Oliver sighed, “could be an opportunity to put faces to names.”

William’s eyes scanned the booming cliques. “Is Zoe here yet?” 

“Laurel can go check!” Felicity offered. Laurel moved her arm off her. “Come on, please? It’ll give you a chance to introduce yourself to everyone!”

After a moment of reluctance, Laurel flicked William’s ear. “Yeah, sure, whatever, Wiley.” 

“Thanks, aunt Laurel.”

Any irritability Laurel had in her melted when he called her _that._ Her brain echoed it over and over. Analyzing the word; the boy’s tone. The way it made her chest clench in surprise every time. _You’re his aunt now,_ it told her. 

Laurel slouched her shoulders back. “You’re _oh-so_ welcome, Walter.”

With a quick kiss to Felicity, and the flash of a leer to her husband, Laurel stepped into the crowd. Her ears honed in on all the sounds bumbling within the bar. Felicity’s boyfriend Cisco was rambling to his girlfriends, Kamilla and Sue, about some Marvel movie. A blonde alien was reminding her sister not to arrest some white-haired prison escapees. Some bisexual shapeshifter was telling her vigilante fiancée about how much better the Ruby Red Lipstick bar was to The Hold Up. Thea Queen was offering Roy Harper five bucks if he helped her convince their partner Sin to sing _My_ _Girlfriend’s Girlfriend_ with them. Cecile Horton’s boyfriend Harry Wells was holding her hand as they got inked by Batwoman, ignoring the scowl of their mutual datemate Joe West. At the bar, Barry complained about how he couldn’t get drunk while picking up drinks for their group, accompanied by his wife.

Iris West-Allen, the co-leader of Team Flash. She was the one with a chart of who is dating who. It listed everyone’s orientations. She’d sent a copy to Laurel the day after she got with Felicity, some over three years ago now. According to Barry, Iris was also the one who wrote up and sent all the vigilante teams a bi-weekly pamphlet about the newest villain-of-the-week or the progress of a big bad. 

Laurel had to admit, even if she had rather poor taste in men, the woman had spunk. She’d seen it first hand.

_Laurel adjusts her choker in the bathroom mirror, listening to the quiet hum of Felicity’s quick fingers tapping on her laptop in the other room. She sighs to herself, dread filling her thoughts. Her hands cruelly gripping the bathroom sink, Laurel’s fingers tap impatiently on the cold surface. She blinks at herself in the mirror, wondering if she should ask Felicity what time it was, but her mind scolded her with the memory that she had asked only moments ago. Finally, a rip of red distorts the suburban bathroom and blurs her vision. She hears the rumble of outside voices fly by her ears. Her breathing hitches as her brain processes her new surroundings._

_“What the fucking—!” Laurel whirls around and eyes the Flash. “Warn a girl next time, Allen!”_

_“Sorry,” Barry says. He doesn’t look the part. Her annoyance comes to the forefront at his smile. The overwhelming emotion that threatened to collapse her new found family, safely retreats when a familiar touch takes her hand._

_She still can’t quite believe that Felicity is hers. Or that she’s Felicity’s. She reminds herself that she can’t belong to anyone, because she is not a pet or a prize. She chooses to intertwine with Felicity, but that doesn’t mean Felicity is necessary to what makes Laurel Laurel. They can stand on their own._

_Maybe Laurel just likes the way Felicity smiles._

_She can’t ruin the night for her._

_“Date-night,” grins that very girlfriend. “A quin date-night!”_

_“Technically,” the person next to Barry goes, “we’re not all dating so it’s not a real quin.”_

_Laurel glances at the woman’s ring. “Ah,” she barks, “the glorious Iris West! Our boy Allen won’t shut up about you. Or about Patty Spivot. Or Cisco Ramon. Or anyone,” she plasters a fake smile and points it at him. “He just never shuts his mouth.”_

_Iris’ eyes watch her gingerly, but Barry grins to his wife, like saying ‘it’s true! I contain multitudes!’_

_“Still don’t get sarcasm, huh?”_

_At the way Barry looks at Laurel, Iris tightly laces their fingers. “I thought you guys were friends now.”_

_“Ha!” Laurel crosses her arms, feigning indifference. “Right—”_

_Felicity grabs Laurel’s arm harshly. “Sorry.” She interrupted, politeness bathing her words. “She’s not great around new people.”_

_“I’m not a dog, Felicity.”_

_“But you have the trust issues of one.”_

_Her tone makes something flash in Laurel, something almost like regret. It was smothered in an instant, suffocated by Black Siren’s defenses, the survival mode she could never escape from. Doubt creeps inside her subconscious. Was this a mistake? What if this trapped her? Loving Felicity was moronic. It couldn’t be undone. Black Siren could never pretend to be like them. She wasn’t a doting wife, not a wayward superhero with a heart of gold. She would never fit into their world._

_Maybe that’s why her counterpart was dead. No Laurel Lance belongs to their group. No one of their name deserves love._

_Then Iris does something Laurel can’t expect. She nods at Felicity, and gives Laurel her hand. “Nice to meet you,” Iris says, with all the kindness she can muster._

_Iris smiles at how blankly Laurel stares at her. Quickly, Laurel’s dignified glare returns, but she takes Iris’ hand with a little more warmth. “Pleasure.”_

Laurel shakes her head free from the memory. Finally, she caught Dinah talking to Curtis. The three were queerplatonic partners, so they had to know where René was. Wild Dog would lead her to his pup, Zoe. She pushed through to their direction.

Laurel lost track of how many people she saw. She was almost thrown to the floor when a couple ran past her, a snatched trans flag being held by the guy who loosely tied it around his girlfriend’s neck with robotic movements. She overheard Cisco gifting someone a drugged shot, promising that it would get the lady drunk _‘despite her alien genes.’_ At one of the fast food stands Laurel walked by, Sara Lance was stuffing herself silly with fries. The taller woman next to her—Ava, Laurel guessed—was eating a cheeseburger with a _fork._ Next to them, the newly revived Eddie Thawne was losing an arm wrestle to the Atom. Ray Palmer’s dates Nora Darhk and Nate Heywood were cheering him on. Iris screamed, _“KICK HIS ASS BABE!”_ from the bar while Barry whooped behind her.

Laurel managed to shove passed half the room until she reached her targets. _Fucking finally,_ she growled, huffing at the ground for a minute. “Hey, fuckwads. Willow’s lookin’ for Zoe. Where is the brat?”

“Don’t call our niece a brat!” Dinah hissed back at her with forced bitterness. Laurel could easily tell the other meta had long-since warmed up to her. She had been the least surprised face when Felicity came out as the Black Siren’s lover.

Curtis, despite being Felicity’s best friend, had been the most baffled. Thank god that was in the past. Laurel didn’t know what she would have done if they hated her for all the years she’d been with Felicity. 

He nodded and crossed his arms, trying and failing to look intimidating. _“Yeah!”_

Laurel flipped them off, then finally raised her chin. “Oh,” she whispered. “Hey.”

A ginger woman stood between Dinah and Curtis. She looked happier to see the Siren than either of her own team members. 

Happily, Patty Spivot combed her hair behind her ear. “Hey!”

_Laurel’s fingers tap impatiently on the table. The Flash was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. Barry’s got super-speed, but he usually shows up late anyways. Laurel supposes it doesn’t bother her too much. She orders without him, pulling up her phone to occupy herself. She scrolls through Iris West’s news app._

_“Laurel?”_

_She immediately recognizes it as overly-chipper. It was feminine, so she knew it wasn’t Barry, even if his glee was as restless as the barista’s tone. “Over here.”_

_Footsteps follow. “Just set it down here.” Laurel taps the table. “I swear if there’s any cream in this, I’m going to throw it at you.”_

_“Uh, I’m not a waiter.”_

_Laurel doesn’t look up. “Why the fuck am I talking to you, then?”_

_The person clears her throat. “You are Laurel Lance, r-right?”_

_Laurel sighs. “Yeah, kid, it’s the Black Canary. Breathe it in. Preferably away from me, I’m trying to binge my girlfriend’s boyfriend’s wife’s stories here.”_

_Usually, Laurel had excitedly learned, bringing up her polyamorist status got people to leave her the fuck alone._

_The voice that snaps back at her is brimming with strained civility. “I’m actually one of your girlfriend’s boyfriend’s girlfriends. And I’m the wife’s, too.”_

_Laurel locks gazes with her._

_“Hi,” she says. “I’m Patty Spivot.”_

_“Patty.” Laurel’s eyes narrow. “As in ‘you killed my father, prepare to die’ Patty Spivot?”_

_Patty cringes. “That’s me.”_

_Black Siren’s lips curl in a taunting smirk. “And why am I having the glorious opportunity of meeting you, miss Montoya, instead of our boy?”_

_“He had to cancel. Work thing.”_

_Laurel is out of her chair before her mouth curts the words. “Which job?”_

_Patty steps back. “The civilian one,” she explains quickly. “He’s not in trouble. I wouldn’t be here if he was. Just has paperwork to do and his computer can’t keep up with his super-speed.”_

_Laurel’s face hardens again. “Right.”_

_They stare at each other for a minute._

_Laurel bites. “Why are you here? Allen too backed up to send a text?”_

_“No, he just—” Patty straightens. “I’m on my way to Central City. My train only stops at Starling—uh, Star. So he asked me to come keep you company.”_

_“What?” Laurel’s amusement ruffles. Suddenly she was more hurt than bored. “Does he expect us to become besties,_ Patsie? _Should I make you a friendship bracelet?”_

_She sits herself back down. “Tell Barry I can make my own fucking friends.” Her fists ball in her lap._

_Patty pauses, awkwardly. Laurel can practically smell the girl’s helplessness. She can certainly hear it, through Patty’s quickened heartbeat. Laurel glances at her, and finds Patty uncomfortably shifting her gaze wherever she can look._

_“What?” Laurel grunts._

_Spivot weakly mumbles in response. “Uh, my ride won’t be here for a bit. Can... Can I—”_

_Laurel groans. “Fine! Sit.”_

_Patty perks up as she takes the seat opposite of Laurel. She watches Laurel’s thumb, scrolling through her phone. Laurel doubted the light ginger could make out the screen. “Don’t you have something better to do than birdwatch? Like, hunt down your daddy’s killer, for example?”_

_Laurel knows she crossed the line when she sees how her new best friend freezes. But the way her gaze was posed let Laurel play reasonable doubt. Her eyebrows knit in frustration, but what was she supposed to say? This Patty woman didn’t know her. She hadn’t witnessed Laurel for all she is, what she could do. She couldn’t allow Spivot to see remorse in her eyes, to detect any sign of weakness, before she saw Laurel’s black side._

_Then Patty sighs weakly, letting out all the exhaustion craned on her shoulders. “I was just_ so _angry,” murmurs the stranger. “About— I don’t know anymore. About everything, I guess.”_

_Maybe, Laurel muses, they weren’t too different after all._

_“I get it, alright?” She replies with a shrug. “But Team Vigilante doesn’t take too kindly to folks who beat the shit out of other folks as a coping mechanism.”_

_Patty tilts her head. “Isn’t that their whole thing, though?”_

_The weight in Laurel’s gut relieves, ever so slightly. She smiles in surprise, and decides to put an effort in manners. “I thought I was the only one who caught that.”_

_“Me too,” breathes Patty._

_Laurel bites her lip. “... Hey, wanna de-stress a bit?”_

_“And do what?”_

_“Well, screaming has always been_ very _therapeutic for me.”_

_“Oh,” Patty frowns, eyeing Laurel suspiciously. “I wouldn’t want to disturb anyone.”_

_“Spivot, this is Star City. No one gives a shit if someone’s screaming bloody murder. That’s all they do in the Glades.”_

_Patty looks horrified. “Are you serious?”_

_Laurel rolls her eyes, barking a laugh. “Look, anyone needs any help, we got it, right? I mean, you’re CSI, I’m a grifter— I mean,” she smirks, “an outstanding legal citizen of this Earth and this Earth only, of course.”_

_A chuckle escapes from Patty Spivot._

_Laurel finds her hand on the other woman, reassuring her with a calm tone and a dangerous shimmer in her eyes. “Is that a yes?”_

_She can see the same desire in Patty’s gaze, the need for cheap thrills to feel like one’s self. Laurel knows there’s more to her._

_The race to the Glades is a blur. When they finally cross the threshold, Patty can’t stop giggling. Laurel leads her to the center of the neighborhood. They don’t have to wait long for someone to blast death metal. Seconds before the music crashes into Patty’s ears, Laurel catches it, and lets out the loudest non-capital cry she can find. Patty joins her moments later._

_Patty runs away laughing. “Did we just do that?”_

_Black Siren catches up to her. “Told you no one would come!”_

_“Just because you’re right,” smiles Patty, “doesn’t mean you should be.”_

_Laurel is about to flash her own pearly-whites, but her hearing hones into a scream a few blocks away. After a second, it sounds to Patty as well._

_Black Siren takes a running start, smugly looking back at her. “Well, then, what are you going to do about it?”_

_Patty grabs her gun and grins at Laurel. “Let’s go!”_

Patty wrapped her into a hug. “Good to see you, bestie!”

Patty’s calming touch dragged Laurel out of her anxiety. “Yeah,” she gasped. She controlled her flinch and let herself be embraced, with a little protest. She had to maintain her dignity, after all. “You, too, bestie.”

“I-I didn’t know you guys knew each other,” stammered out Curtis.

Dinah pointed at them. “They’ve been close for years, Curt.”

Laurel quickly stepped back from Patty. “I have friends, you know.”

“Only ones that don’t live here,” Dinah said. 

Laurel went to snarl, but Patty’s nice voice swept over her indignance. “Zoe was just here a second ago. She and her dad are looking for William, too.”

“So they’re doing my work for me. Great,” Laurel’s eyes widened. “I’m gonna go get shit-faced! Have fun, ladies.”

Dinah cupped her mouth to keep herself from cackling at Curtis’ gawk. Patty waved at them, then grabbed Laurel’s hand and gave her a grin, similar to the one Laurel came accustomed to on the night they met. “Could you show me to Barry?”

Laurel smiled. “Yeah, sure, but this place is filled. You’re gonna need more than a harsh hand-holding to keep up.” She offered her elbow. Patty hooked her arm around Laurel’s. “Hold on tight, Pats.”

Laurel nudged by the brimming room of _idiots._ As they passed the bar, she noticed Sue Dearbon, pretending to listen to her boyfriend’s infodump. Sue caught Laurel looking, and stuck her tongue out at her, twisting her finger to her head. 

Cisco scowled. “I’m not crazy!”

Kamilla kissed his cheek. “Of course not.” 

“Hey, Laurel,” screamed Sue, “I’ll pay for your drinks if you tell Cissy what’s up!” 

Laurel mirrored Sue’s confidence. “You mean how he’s fucking crazy?” 

Sue pointed in her direction. “See? I’m right, you’re wrong. Can we go make out in the bathroom now?”

“It doesn’t count!” Cisco argued. “She was your lawyer.”

Sue pouted. _“Fake_ lawyer!” 

_Laurel’s procrastinating on work by losing at Candy Crush when there’s a knock at her door. She readies to yell that she’s on break, but her memories linger on a text she got from Barry that day. Someone would be showing up at her office, looking for help. She glances at the time._

_“Shit.” She sloppily tries to get her papers in order before the doorframe clicks open. She face-palms when she sees him. Of course, moans her thoughts. Ralph Dibny is just the type to not wait for an answer._

_“Laurel Lance?” He asks._

_“Yeah, fucker. Who do I look like?” She snaps. “Close the door.”_

_A short woman follows Ralph. She returns Laurel’s glare. By the stranger’s stiff movements, Black Siren can tell that, yup, she’s clearly irked. The brunette closes the door firmly, and taps it to make extra-sure._

_Laurel shakes her head. “What can I help you with, Elongated Man?”_

_The woman flinches, looking ready for a fight. Ralph puts a hand in front of her before she can throw herself at Laurel. “She’s cool, she’s cool,” Dibny says. “At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”_

_“And you’ve heard right.” She cocks her head at Ralph’s friend. “Laurel Lance, kid. Pleasure.”_

_The woman stuffs her hands in her pockets. “The Black Canary.”_

_Laurel rolls her eyes. “Black_ Siren, _actually. Canary’s been dead for a while now. I’m afraid I’m not one to take up her mantle.” She smiles at her puzzled expression. “So, Dibny. Can we trust this one?”_

_Ralph hesitates. “Fifty-fifty, honestly.”_

_“I like those odds. Come, come, take a seat.” Laurel snaps her fingers at the chairs before her desk and softens back into her chair. “What can I help you with?”_

_Ralph easily falls into Laurel’s client chairs. His companion seems to prefer standing, like she was planning to leave in a hurry. She also didn’t seem to like the way Laurel’s eyes narrow at her, because the woman grimaces right back._

_Ralph inhales. “This is Sue. She’s sort of wanted right now—”_

_“Alright, I deal with a lot of meta cases nowadays. There’s not much to worry about; ever since Star City elected a meta as their deputy—thanks, Dinah—things are cooling down for us. Just gotta get the right jury. Won’t be hard to convince them to our side; show ‘em a slide show of, I don’t know, police brutality or metahuman profiling or something, I don’t know. Should be clear-cut enough. What’d she destroy? Assuming she didn’t kill anyone?”_

_Ralph opens his mouth, but no words come out._

_Laurel suppresses the desire to Cry. “Okay, that makes things way fucking harder, uh, but—”_

_Ralph cuts her sentence. “She’s not one of us, and she didn’t kill anyone, either. I was there. She’s being framed.”_

_Laurel grits her teeth. “For?”_

_Sue circles towards the chair next to Ralph’s, and sits down cross-legged. “The murder of Joseph Carver,” she says, looking like she enjoys the shock that zips through Laurel’s face._

_“Joseph fucking Carver?” Laurel echoes. “I can’t— that guy has serious money, which means he has serious fucking lawyers that know what the fuck they’re doing—”_

_Sue corrects her. “Had.”_

_Laurel takes her phone and restarts her game. “I can’t help you.”_

_“But—”_

_“Ralph.” Laurel’s voice hardens. “I don’t know why Barry sent you to me. You know I’m not a real lawyer. I can’t win this for you.”_

_“You don’t have to!” Ralph cries. Laurel risks looking up. “Look, we already know who really killed Carver, all we have to do is prove it and take her down.” He locks eyes with the pseudo-DA. “You just have to stall long enough.”_

_Laurel weighs her options. Finally, she breaks, letting herself breathe. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”_

_Ralph bursts into smiles. He jumps over Laurel’s desk and pulls her head until his chin. Laurel tries to stop him from hugging her, but the Elongated Man is built like a slinky, and only snaps back on her skin._

_“Fucking gross!” She yells._

_“You love it,” Ralph says._

_Laurel glances at her new client. Sue is quiet in her chair, her chin lifted in anticipation for the coming trail. She calms the hair on her skin before she returns Laurel’s eyes._

_Sue mouths a silent thank-you._

“Also, what’s with you and making out in bathrooms?” Cisco asked Sue.

“It’s hot!”

“It’s _unsanitary_ is what it is—”

Kamilla Hwang interjected him. “Besides, Ralph wants to wait until after he _‘knocks one back’_ with Frost.” The three glanced a few stools behind her.

There, Laurel spotted Ralph Dibny with a familiar redhead. Ralph was lightly patting her back while she rubbed her eyes. “Our girlfriends are coming.” She said, tiredly. Caitlin was basically a drone by then. Felicity had told her that the doctor had Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her alternate personality, or simply her alter, was the infamous and cold Killer Frost. According to Barry, Ralph and her were best friends. 

Caitlin was slowly transitioning, triggered by the soon arrival of _“Silverwire,”_ as Barry put it. Silver Banshee and Livewire, two fellow lesbian reformees. Apparently, since Earth-Prime formed, their stories changed. They broke out of prison before being moved to the DEO and joined Amunet Black’s crew, around the same time Caitlin was in it. Frost got friendly with them, and worked to reform them. Now _Silverwire_ ran a metahuman podcast.

“My girlfriends are coming,” Caitlin repeated, and dropped her eyelids. Then, they fluttered back open at the speed of Barry. A pale blue, almost white, sparked in her previously dark eyes. Her hair fell to white, along with her skin.

Ralph cheered. “Frostie!” 

He offered her a drink. She took it before he had even set it down. It turned to ice when she was halfway done chugging. 

_“Caity says throw that on a table or something. And I say get me another one on the way, Vix!”_ The familiar echo of Killer Frost raddled Laurel. _She goes by Frost now,_ Barry had explained, _you two actually have a lot in common!_

Laurel had decided she’d figure that out for herself. 

_“So… you’re dating your alternate personality,” Laurel says. She had accompanied Felicity on her date, before their girlfriend had to run out on Overwatch business. “How’s that going?”_

_Caitlin Snow answers back politely. “Good, thank you. It was a natural step when we both realized our feelings. Sharing a body with someone doesn’t exactly leave room for many secrets.”_

_“Yeah, but how do you guys fuck?”_

_Caitlin’s face got stuck in that how-can-someone-be-so-crude expression Laurel was used to getting._

_For once, she recognizes her mistake. Her mouth opens awkwardly._

_Caitlin replies before Laurel can backtrack. “I’m asexual.”_

_“Ah.” Laurel glances at the floor. “Sorry. Still workin’ on that amatonormativity thing.”_

_“I’m hoping you also realize that’s not an appropriate question for allo people either?”_

_“Yeah. Sorry. I’m, uh— it’s something I’m trying to get better at.” Her hands gesture vaguely, fumbling. “This whole being-a-good-person thing is one hell of an uphill battle, huh?”_

_Caitlin pauses, squinting; as if reading Laurel. She draws her conclusion, and smiles with more snark._ “I know exactly what you mean,” _remarks an echoing voice. The color in Caitlin’s irises fades._

_Less than an hour later, Killer Frost is on Laurel’s couch, with Laurel’s knees pinned in between her guest’s spread legs._

_“So,” Laurel whispers in her ear, her hands cupping the pale woman’s cheekbones. “Tell me about yourself.”_

_Frost straddles Laurel’s hips._ “Well, I’m snow laughing matter,” _she smirks._

_Laurel suddenly huffs in a breath of air. “God, you’re so fucking stupid,” she grunts, and Frost meets her lips halfway. The kiss was quick and rushed, heated purely by the type of recognition the abused could feel in the touch of someone like them. Someone who had lacked tenderness for so long, so instead they learned to fuel their rebellion with brute flames._

_Frost pulls Laurel’s jacket off recklessly. At the moment, Laurel can’t bring herself to care. She lifts her shirt over her head. The way Frost bites her lip at Laurel’s biceps only powers the storm in their eyes._

_Killer Frost flips on top of her._ “Stick with me, kid, and I’ll show you what I know.” _She smiles in a way that pulls at Laurel’s defenses, like this woman can relate to a part of her that Felicity can’t. Maybe she can._

_Laurel kisses her longer this time._

She quickly turned to Patty and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Alright, Barry and Iris are on those idiots’ left. You’re gonna have to meet them quickly, before they get back to your other guy Eddie and we lose them in the crowd. Do you see them?”

“Yeah!” Patty confirmed, and evolved her arms to pull Laurel into a hug. “Thanks.”

Laurel fell back from her. “Yeah, uh, whatever you want, Pats.” 

Patty’s cheer didn’t falter. “Are we still on for tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I bought your favorite to go along with Felicity’s mint chip collection.”

“You got me vanilla? You didn’t have to do that!”

Laurel lightly rapped Patty’s shoulder with her knuckles. “What are friends for?”

Patty laughed. With a final wave of goodbye, the woman shoved her way to her boyfriend and girlfriend. Laurel waited for a moment, watching as Patty poked Iris’ back to get her attention. She stifled a smile at the West-Allens excited gasps. Barry wrapped his arms under Patty’s and lifted her up. Patty let out delighted giggles, shouting so loud Laurel plugged her ears for a moment. When Barry put her down, Patty kissed him, while Iris put her arm around her. Patty turned and gave Iris the same treatment. Barry called Mari and Kuasa for more drinks. 

Laurel hoped no one saw the contented way she looked at her friends. _She had friends now._ The idea was still so weird to her. Laurel knew first-hand how difficult she could be; but somehow, these people saw through it. They were charmed enough to actually want her around. A majority of them even managed to see past her lost doppelgänger when they saw her. Sure, it took a while, and some were still wary. A certain two of Felicity’s sweethearts especially. That didn’t make it Laurel’s fault. They were trying; they _wanted_ to like her. It took her so long to believe that the feeling was genuine, and even longer to admit to herself that it was reciprocated. 

But, she could now. Not in so many words. Just an act of kindness, or through a nickname that popped off her lips. Small things, sure, but it spoke multitudes for people like Laurel. And, she may not have known it at first, but this room was overflowing with people like her.

People who loved her.

 _Like Felicity._ Laurel looked back to the front and caught sight of her. A ponytailed blonde with black glasses. _Did she get taller?_ She rummaged towards her girlfriend. She accidentally pushed between three girls—a chiseled brunette, a woman with a tight black bun, the only one who looked _somewhat_ dignified, and a taller version of Felicity—attempting to kiss at the same time.

“Yeah, try again, maybe it’ll work this time.” She shoved them apart to make a path.

“Fuck you,” said the muscled tattoo artist. “This is my fucking bar, y’know!”

“And I’m the fucking birthday girl, y’know.”

Kate Kane frowned. “Oh.”

“Our sincere apologies,” said the one with crow-colored brows. 

“Happy birthday!” clapped the blonde.

Laurel scrunched her face. “Thanks. You’re Supergirl, right?”

“Yeah! I’m Kara Danvers,” she nodded rapidly. “Nice to meet you, Laurel!”

For some reason, resentment bubbled at her core, but she pushed it down in a hurry. She let her hard persona crack more than a slight, and smiled back at Kara Danvers with all the kiss-ass she had in her. “You, too.”

“I’m Lena Luthor.” The distinguished woman offered to shake hands. 

She took it up. “Laurel Lance.”

“Aw!” exclaimed Kara. “You both have all L names! What’s that called?”

Lena fondly scoffed. “Alliteration, Kara.”

Kate made a face. “Aren’t you a writer? You should know this.”

“I’m a reporter,” corrected the Kryptonian. “They’re different.”

“Not really,” Lena said. “You’re a writer, Kara, you simply made a different career out of it than novelists. Writing doesn’t necessarily need to be a career, either. Those who do it as a hobby are still writers. Just because you’re a reporter, it doesn’t make you less of one. You’re a writer nonetheless, love.”

“You only think that because you write Leverage fanfiction.” 

Lena scowled at Kate. Laurel laughed. They snapped their heads at her, Lena’s gaze even more decisive than Felicity’s. Her eyes narrowed at Laurel so much that Laurel could make out the difference in her irises. The left a pale blue, almost no different than the right’s green, as if that color was the morning dew on soft grass. Batwoman smiled, gritted and boredly, crossing her arms like she was flexing her muscles. 

Kara, though, only smiled wider. “Lena’s the smart one! She has a million thoughts for just about everything. She’s all formal and specific. Isn’t it adorable?” 

Lena glared at her girlfriend, who simply continued on happily. “Kate is the reckless and stubborn one—” 

“I’m not stubborn,” Kate snarled. “I’m… strong-willed.”

Lena put her hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Dear, and I say this with love, _strong-willed_ is merely a nice way of saying stubborn.”

_“I’m not stubborn!”_

“And there you can see the stubbornness first hand,” Kara teased. Laurel wasn’t used to people laughing with her. 

A question kept repeating in her brain. Should she? _No, no. It’ll only make things weird._ But she couldn’t stand not knowing. “Hey, uh… did you ever meet the Earth-One Laurel? Before Earth-Prime?”

The three exchanged a glance, then collectively shook their heads. 

“I mostly only visited Barry. We weren’t on the same Earth then.”

“She died before I put on the batsuit.”

“I wasn’t in on the big secret when . . .”

Laurel nodded solemnly. _“Huh.”_ She played with her hands, full of thought. These strangers didn’t think of Black Siren and compare her to the Black Canary. They couldn’t flinch at her face, because to them, it didn’t remind them of a ghost. To Kara, Kate and Lena, the Laurel Lance of this Earth was _Siren’s_ twin, not the other way around. 

Lena smoothed her dress with her palms. “Why do you ask?”

Laurel tried to shrug as uncaringly as she could. “This is the first time I’ve met anyone who… doesn’t see her, when they’re looking at me.” 

Kara looked sullen. “That’s… _sad._ Do you want a hu—”

“No, no, seriously. I get enough of that from my girlfriend’s girlfriend’s girlfriend.” Laurel put her hands in her leather pockets. She studied the body language of the other women cautiously, not daring to look them in the eyes. She noticed a choked motion in Lena’s firm hands, which turned to small fists at her side. 

Laurel stared at Lena. “It is what it is.”

Lena returned the look. It affirmed what Laurel already knew; Lena was like her. Someone with a game plan, a caged heart. A fight-or-flight response that favored the former. 

Perhaps, Laurel thought, _that’s_ what set the Siren apart from the Canary. Her doppelgänger was raised kindly by the latter, where Earth-Two Laurel Lance grew up surrounded by formers. 

But there was no more Earth-Two, or even E-1. It was a common sting to her, the knowledge that her home had transformed without her. At the same time, nothing had really changed. The people were still there, but they were fused with versions of themselves they had only dreamed about becoming. Shouldn’t she consider that beautiful? How even if universes were destroyed, they came back together, and produced a world where anything could happen? An immigrant could fall in love with a married, gun-toting genius. She could become an aunt to their kid, a friend of her husband and his beau. She could make a name for herself outside of Star City, outside of the blacks and whites of superheroes and villains. To these people, she could just be Laurel. Good, cranky Laurel, who would take a bullet for them in a heartbeat.

Maybe, in the chaos of Earth-Prime, the immigrant befriending a furry, an alien and a repressive scientist wouldn’t be _so_ weird. Laurel could name the amount of dead people she saw walking around on her hands, after all. Being _average_ itself is not a virtue. 

Kate’s phone pinged in her pockets. She impatiently fished it into her hands. “Oh, Julia and Sophie are here.”

“Yay! I love those guys!”

Lena smiled. “You love everyone when you’re drunk, Kara.”

“I do!” Kara grinned, and pulled Lena’s arms around her. She snuggled the shorter woman, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “But I love you guys more!”

Kate rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna barf.”

Laurel gagged her agreement. “Disgusting.”

Kate half-smiled down at her. “Hey, I, uh... like your septum piercing.”

“My what?” 

“... Your nose ring?”

“Oh,” Laurel said. “I just call it a bull ring.” 

Kate chuckled at that.

Laurel smiled. “But, thanks. I like your tattoos.”

“I could give you one, if you want.”

“I’m—”

“I’m licensed and it’s perfectly safe.”

“Did I ask?” Laurel smiled. “Sure. I love making terrible decisions. Let me get drunk first, alright? Find me in ten. I gotta get back to my girl.”

Kara’s eyes snapped wide. _“Oh!_ Oh, oh, oh, oh! You should get our numbers! Quick, Kate, what’s my phone number?”

“I can’t remember your number, Kara. That’s what phones are for,” lulled Batwoman.

Lena frowned. “Don’t you have it on you?”

“Oh!” Kara let go of her. Lena instantly drew in air after being released from her girlfriend’s super-strengthened hold. “You’re so smart! I love you so much!”

“I love you too.”

Kara threw her phone at Laurel’s face. “Jesus fucking—!” Laurel’s hands fumbled with it, until she grasped it so hard she merely crushed it. 

“Call your cell,” Kara bellowed. “Then I’ll have your number!”

Laurel did as she was told. She cancelled the call when she heard her phone buzzing in her jeans. She handed it to Supergirl, then took a step back. She didn’t like the face Kara made. The alien was in _hug-mode_ now.

“Welp, you have my number. That’s my cue. See ya!” Laurel ran away. 

“Wait—”

Laurel dashed behind someone.

Lena caught on. “You can befriend her later, dear. For now, let’s go meet our metamours, alright?”

A sad _“Kay-kay”_ escaped Kara. Lena and Kate led their drunk girlfriend out of the crowd.

Laurel calmed her body in relief. It didn’t last.

_“Siren?”_

Laurel looked up to see Oliver looking over his shoulder, peering down at the metamour that crouched behind his back.

A familiar voice spoke. It was accented and enriched with superiority. “Greetings, wife-in-law.” 

Black Siren growled, standing upright. “What, Ollie? Take a picture. It’ll last longer.”

“Laurel!” Felicity looked up at her, beaming. She didn’t need to gesture at the person next to her. The taller woman was impossible to miss. 

She stood behind Felicity, caressing her shoulders with tan fingertips. Her dark hair was a stark contrast to Felicity’s blonde. Her knuckles were hardened and scarred. A small, formal smile made itself present on plump lips, eyes twinkling with a commanding presence Laurel didn’t see through easily. She felt the newcomer’s challenge like a shift in atmosphere.

Felicity put her hands together. “You remember Nyssa, don’t you?” 

_“Husband.” Someone quips, polite and professional. Laurel recognizes it as the stern tone of someone all-work, no-play. Oliver shuffles to allow the woman inside._

_At the entrance, Laurel suddenly finds herself the only one curled up on the couch. Felicity jumps out of Laurel’s arms and rushes to the door. She dashes to the stranger, grinning excitedly. “Nyssa!”_

_Laurel perks up a bit at Felicity’s tone. Her long-distance girlfriend, Nyssa, nods back. She takes Felicity’s hand and kneels to place a kiss on soft knuckles. Nyssa was a warrior; Laurel could tell by her marked and musceled grip. The daughter of the demon Felicity talked so much about._

_“Greetings, wife-in-law.” When Nyssa lifts her head up, Felicity steals a kiss._

_“I missed you,” she says brightly._

_Nyssa doesn’t let go of her hand. “And I you, beloved.”_

_Felicity gasps. “Oh! That reminds me, you have to meet my new girlfriend!”_

_“The one you spoke of in the letters?”_

_“Yeah!” Felicity runs over to Laurel and grabs her by the hand, dragging Black Siren off the couch. Laurel follows reluctantly, telling herself to play nice._

_“Laurel Lance,” she held out her hand. “They call me Black Siren on my Earth.”_

_“Nyssa al Ghul,” she grasped Laurel’s grip and briefly shook it. Laurel didn’t like how the woman leered to return Laurel’s own perilous flicker in her gaze. “Daughter of the demon.”_

_Laurel tries not to look at her. She feels exposed by the Ghul’s rough clutch. Her voice demands the attention center, overshadowing everyone. Covering Laurel behind curtains, like she had been for so much of her life. The relationship was still new to Laurel; she feared Nyssa taking her place in Felicity’s life, as if Nyssa and Laurel were interchangeable._

_So, Laurel lies. “It’s a pleasure.”_

_Nyssa stifles a chuckle, looking down. “Most assuredly.”_

_Felicity notices the odd aura between the two. “What’s wrong?” She asks, to no one in particular. Laurel looks down._

_Nyssa hesitates. “She’s . . .” She doesn’t finish. Laurel realizes that she can’t find the words. Carefully, Felicity eyes them, waiting and growing more impatient by the minute._

_They should know better than to try hiding from Overwatch._

_Finally, Nyssa al Ghul accepts her fate, and stands with her back arched below her upped shoulders. “She looks so much like her,” she breathes, “but she isn’t. She’s a rather_ poor _imitation.”_

 _Laurel feels the wariness swiftly pool into her ill temper and she opens her mouth to snarl back at the— the fucking_ bitch _acting like she fucking_ knows _her or something, when—_

 _“Though, I suppose that’s why it is so simple to tell her apart from_ my _beloved.”_

_The anger dips. “... You loved Laurel?”_

_Nyssa brings a half-smile to her refined face. “Yes, I loved her. Though she is gone, and you do not seek to replace her. That’s evident in the way you carry yourself. My Laurel would never be so cross, you see.”_

_Laurel blows the hair out of her face. “Yeah, a real saint.”_

_“She was.” Nyssa al Ghul says. “And I appreciate that you’re not attempting to be her any longer.”_

_Laurel shrugs at the abrupt friendly turn Nyssa’s tone took. “Yeah, well, the only thing I’m better at your Laurel at, is not being an alcoholic.”_

_Nyssa blinks slowly. “I’m guessing, while you’re not exceptionally fond of alcohol, many of her troubles are persistent within you as well.”_

_Laurel grimaces._

_“Am I wrong?”_

_Black Siren crosses her arms. “You don’t_ look _like a therapist.”_

 _“That I’m not,” Nyssa remarks, “but I_ am _told to have exceptional judgement. According to our beloved, I am but a seasoned listener, and I give quite good advice.”_

_“Talkings not really my style.”_

_“Well, while I am glad that’s settled,” scoffs the demon’s heir, “I was not offering chit-chat, Black Siren.”_

_Laurel stares. “Then… what?”_

_Nyssa raises her chin. “Why, I’m offering a duel, of course.”_

_“What the fuck are you talking about?”_

_“Yes. Duel me to prove that you are worthy of my beloved’s hand. If you are anything like myself,” she turns her smile to Felicity, “this woman is your world. Let this prove to your mind that you are worthy of the world, by fighting for your place within it.”_

_Laurel looks back and forth between Oliver, Felicity and Nyssa. “You can’t be serious.”_

_“She is,” Oliver says._

_“She can’t be.” Felicity’s voice cracks._

_Nyssa looks under her black robes and tightly grips a handle. “I am.”_

_Laurel’s hands reacted before she knew what was happening. She harshly held the handle in place, her arms shaking from the amount of might she put into her fingers. “Fuck no,” she yelps._

_Her eyes shift wildly. “A-And_ fuck _you!” She shouts when she finds the words._ _“I don’t need to prove anything to you! Felicity loves me, I love her, you don’t fucking own me, you sure as_ fuck _don’t own_ her, _either! I don’t need to beat the shut out of anyone to feel good about myself anymore, but I didn’t know I had to check to make sure that was good with you!”_

_Laurel shakes her head. “Fuck off, Nyssa al Ghul.”_

_She almost flinches when Nyssa lets go of the blade. She can’t hold it back as the woman puts her hand on Laurel’s arm._

_Nyssa lifts her chin. “That’s what I thought.”_

_Laurel pushes from her touch. “What’d you mean?” She steps in front of Felicity, her thoughts running tense and her body chiding to offense, if need be._

_Nyssa doesn’t seem phased. In fact, Laurel discerns that the dark woman looks more pleased than anything else. “My apologies, Laurel Lance. You see, instigating your adrenaline is the only way to get a… as Cisco would say, a tsundere, such as yourself to tell the truth to a stranger; a person who you don’t yet trust. I hope to change that in the future. Nonetheless, you played your role quite well. I could sense you truly love Felicity from the moment she touched you, but I had to find out if you loved your place in her heart as well.”_

_Laurel scowls. “You mean that I’m just one of her girlfriends, plural?”_

_Nyssa nods._

_“Why would I date her if I wasn’t cool with it?”_

_“Some who have joined the polycule hoped that, by entering a relationship with their crush, that person would fall completely in love with them and them only, and reject their other loves.”_

_Laurel turns to Felicity. “Is that true?”_

_“... Yeah,” she admits. “Not to me. But to some of my friends, one of my other partners. It, uh, happened to Caitlin. She was interested in this guy, um—”_

_“Julian,” Oliver cracks his knuckles. “Julian_ ‘Bitch’ _Albert.”_

_Felicity laughs, but it’s twinged with regret. “Yeah. Julian. He tried pulling it, but his jealousy got the better of him and he ended up telling the truth when they were arguing. He was sort of shunned from Team Flash.”_

_Nyssa looks back to Laurel. “He moved to London shortly thereafter.”_

_“I-I had no idea,” she blurts out. She goes silent. Then, after a quiet sniffle, she takes Felicity’s hand. They lock eyes, and Laurel moans faintly,_ “Fuck _that guy.”_

_Nyssa suddenly snorts in amusement. “I could not have said it better myself.”_

_“Aw, you guys!” Felicity gushes. She pulls the two into her arms, almost bonking her girlfriends’ heads together. The TV announces the next episode starting. Felicity yells with a fangirl shake of her hands. She charges towards the fridge for more ice cream. She takes out four, but has trouble juggling them between the noodle arms Laurel secretly loved laying in._

_“Oliver!”_

_“On it.” Oliver stacks the pints, one on top of one each, and tightly grabs the center with ease._

_“Thank you,” Felicity kisses his cheek before he crosses to the coffee table._

_Laurel watches the two with a gleam in her eye. Nyssa moves her head slightly to mumble to her without raising Felicity’s suspicions. “Have you seen her tattoo yet? I have.”_

_Laurel locks gazes with her. “Hmm? Tattoo?” She says, faking a baffled face._

_Nyssa smirks. “Oh? You haven’t had the privilege, then?”_

_“Well, not unless it’s the infinity heart.”_

_Her eyes go wide._

_Laurel leans and whispers into her ear, “or have you not found the other one?”_

_“I have!” Nyssa hits Laurel’s wrist. Laurel retreats back in laughter, enjoying the smugness she can taste on her own tongue. “She’s only got the one, dumbass.”_

_She knows Nyssa stifles a smile. “I see you are a lover of cat and mouse, too.”_

_“What can I say? Sirens can’t resist the call of trouble.” She proudly replies._

_Nyssa watches Felicity search for spoons. “Neither can demon daughters.”_

_They exchange a quick, daring glance._

_Laurel licks her lips. “It’s been a while since I had someone to play with, you know.” She crosses her arms. “Or against.”_

_Nyssa glares at her, happily. A challenge lays in her dirty look. Maybe it was wishful thinking on Laurel’s part, but it’s almost as if it resembles... respect. Excitement. “You’re on.”_

“Hello, metamour.” Nyssa greeted.

“Mousie,” drawled Laurel. “Where’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know. Disbanding my evil half-brother’s cult. What have you been up to, Laurel?”

“Nothing much.” 

“Similar to your entire life, I presume.”

Laurel smirked. “So, Nyssa, what’s up with your family and cults? Seems to run in the family, doesn’t it?”

Nyssa’s hands pressed on Felicity’s shoulder firmly. “The Al Ghuls enjoy power,” she asserted. “Those who are typically sucked into cult propaganda are _especially_ easy to coddle and easier still to manipulate. So,” she said with a shrug of her chin, “cults.”

Laurel shifted closer to Felicity. “The Al Ghuls, including you, Nys?”

Nyssa laughed. “Well, you should know something about standing in one’s shadow, yes? Poisoning one’s image?”

Laurel cracked and stuck out her tongue. 

“Mature,” Nyssa chided.

 _“Suck my dick.”_ Laurel happily challenged.

At how Felicity and Oliver silently turned their heads back and forth at the bickering women, Laurel couldn’t hold it anymore. She tilted her head in their direction and _snorted._ Nyssa suppressed her own satisfaction at their common sweetheart’s bewildered gaze, rubbing the center of her finger against her bottom lip to keep herself from cackling along with Black Siren.

Nyssa was easier to beat in the beginning. She was vigilant on Laurel’s tells, but she was wary of hurting her feelings. Black Siren _had_ to remind her of the fallen Canary, no matter what she argued. Nyssa al Ghul had been in love with her, after all. She quickly got over that when Laurel began rolling punches. Metaphorically, of course. Well, sometimes they went hand-in-hand. What many of their group didn’t get was that fighting didn’t have to be all gore and gravely. Sometimes, the chase was the best part. War, done right, could be _fun._ Chaos could be _fun._ Even people as collected and calm as Nyssa al Ghul felt the dangerous desire for toil and trouble. The thrill of it was enough to enthrall the old Laurel to the dark side. It all depended on who was playing, whether it was wanted by all parties. She hadn’t realized that games like cat and mouse could be played by heroes, too, even as something to pass the time, or as a shared inside joke between a pair of unlikely friends. 

Laurel hoped she would never tire of their game.

Nyssa tapped her fingertips on Laurel’s hand. “It’s lovely to see you again, Laurel.” 

“Yeah, you too, miss Brit.” Laurel took Nyssa’s hand and jokingly kissed it. 

A fond half-scoff, half-laugh escaped her. “It’s Received Pronunciation, metamour. It is an accentless type of British English.”

Laurel snorted. “Whatever, Brit.”

“It is _accentless._ I cannot stress this enough.”

“Uh, excuse me?” 

Laurel turned to look at the person who thrust between Felicity and Oliver. “Which one of you is Laurel?” 

Oliver and Felicity move to point at Laurel, who parts her lips to answer, but Nyssa gets there first. “Why do you ask?” Laurel rolled her eyes at her friend’s overprotectiveness.

The newcomer smiled. “I’m Sophie Moore?” 

“Who?” 

“Kate’s girlfriend. She said Laurel agreed to a tattoo? To find her in ten?”

“It has _not_ been that long.”

“It has,” Oliver and Nyssa claimed in unison. Laurel found herself perking up at the not-so-surprised look they traded.

Laurel took a step closer to the stranger and leaned into her face, breathing in the air from her lips. “I’m Laurel.”

Felicity hooked their arms. “What exactly did you agree to?”

“I’m getting inked.”

“What?” questioned Oliver.

Felicity grinned. “Oh, cool! I’ve been thinking about getting another one recently.”

Oliver put his arm around her again. “Of _what?”_

“I want to get ctrl, alt, delete on the top of above the center of my waistline, with plus signs between the words! Don’t you think it sounds cool?”

Oliver sighed. “... Maybe.”

“That would look beautiful on you, my beloved.” Nyssa said, taking Laurel’s other hand. “What are _you_ getting?” 

Laurel tightened the grip. “Maybe I’ll get a cat.”

“Well I’m _certainly_ not getting a mouse.”

Laurel feigned a pout. “You’re no fun.”

Felicity suddenly gasped and squeezed Laurel’s arm with her free hand. “Wait! I have an idea,” she grinned. Laurel liked the fire that danced in her gaze.

“Okay, _okay,_ time out!” Laurel yelled. Felicity was cutting off her circulation with how hard she held Laurel’s hand for support. Oliver pried Laurel out from Felicity’s touch. His wife immediately latched onto his own grip, her fingernails digging harshly into the stoic man’s flesh. He couldn’t complain.

“Is that what you were like when you got your first tattoo?” Kate Kane asked as she worked on her.

Felicity rasped. _“I was high then!”_

“You and me both, kid.” Kate agreed.

“I’m older than you!” She hissed.

“You don’t look a day over thirty!” shouted drunk Kara Danvers, slumped and drooling on Laurel’s back. Laurel only allowed it because Lena promised to pay for the dry-cleaning, and had given Black Siren her credit card. She would soon realize that was a mistake. On the plus side, Laurel would now have Netflix at her place. She could watch Game of Thrones without Felicity now.

…

On second thought, maybe Laurel would give it back as soon as her jacket was taken care of. She shouldn’t waste all these years staying in the good-person lane.

Nyssa rubbed Felicity’s back. “Come now, love. If you so desire, I can ask the guests if I may have drugs for you.”

Laurel barked a laugh. _“May I have some drugs?_ Nyssa, please tell me you weren’t actually going to say that.”

Nyssa’s face went blank. “O-Of course not! Don’t be foolish, Laurel.”

Patty Spivot turned from watching Killer Frost and Charlie singing _Mr. Parker’s Cul-de-sac._ “I’m pretty sure Joe accidentally ate an edible. I can go see where he got it from.”

“That was no accident,” Eddie Thawne chuckled. “And Harry wasn’t the one to offer.” 

Patty was sitting on his right, her head on his shoulder with Eddie’s arm around her, pulling her closer. Iris West was laid down, her head resting in the lap of his criss-crossed legs. Eddie’s other hand was running through Iris’ dark hair. The two women’s fingers were intertwined on his knee. She was snuggled into the man right next to her, their boy Barry Allen. He was curved between Patty’s legs and Iris’ free arm. They watched the sights around them quietly, resting after dancing since Laurel had last seen them.

Iris gasped. _“Cecile?”_

“Someone’s been a bad girl,” Laurel sang.

“It wasn’t me!” Kara cried.

 _“Well, it wasn’t us, G.”_ Frost sat down with her legs trailing off the karaoke stage. _“Right?”_

“Nope!” Charlie jumped down next to her. She had the genderfluid flag wrapped around her shirt like a sleeveless crop top. She posed her elbows up against the stand. “That leaves you, Kara.”

Kara hiccuped. “I didn’t— wait, what’d I do? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

“Stop playing with her,” Lena scolded the girls and pulled Kara off Laurel. “She’s _fragile!”_

“I’ve seen her break a brick and not sweat,” Roy announced from the stand. Sin gently threw a microphone at Thea, who caught it perfectly. The Queen was tapping on the machine. The video displayed a list of YouTube results for _My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend_ by Type O-Negative.

Lena shot him a death glare. “I put a bullet in my own brother, I’ll have you know. I could end you in a heartbeat.”

“Dying’s not so bad,” Roy shrugged. He smirked as his girlfriends flanked him. 

Thea smiled. “Not when you’ve been there before.” 

Laurel snort-laughed.

Charlie flipped her palms out. “Wanna let us in on the joke, luv?” 

She waited for a moment, then simply… smiled. Not a smirk, but a real, happy smile. It made Felicity gasp, which got Laurel to chuckle again. 

“It’s just...” she breathed. “This fucking conversation would be _so_ weird to normal people.”

Frost rose one of her legs to her chest and used it as an arm-rest. _“You callin’ us not normal, Laurie?”_

“You implyin’ we’re _not_ weird, Killer?” Livewire went. She and Silver Banshee were at the nearest table. Livewire stuffed as much food into her pockets as she could manage. Silver Banshee had tried to take a picture of Ava Sharpe eating a burger with a fucking fork. Sara had seen her, and they were now taking turns Crying at each other; the winner gets to do whatever they wish with the picture. Said Ava Sharpe sat next to Nyssa. The two were sharing Sara’s fries and dipping them into milkshakes. Livewire watched them boredly, taking turns looking at which girlfriend.

“Nah, I agree with the Siren.” Charlie nodded. “I’m a time-travelin’ enby pancake shapeshifter Fate. Ain’t nothing normal ‘bout me.”

“Please,” Ava debated, “the only thing stopping us from being considered normal, which is a massively inaccurate social construct, is modern society.”

“Are _clones_ accepted in modern society in the future?” Barry asked.

Ava scowled down at them. “I know you’re trying to contradict me, but they are, actually.”

“Oh.” Barry mumbled.

“Don’t make a point unless you can’t defend it!” Iris laughed.

“This isn’t a debate,” Patty said. “It’s small talk to distract Felicity from the needle on her shoulder.” 

Felicity immediately writhed in place. “Did you have to remind me?!”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that was necessary either!” Kate grunted. “Stop moving!” 

Nyssa glanced at Oliver. “Husband, is your hand alright?”

Oliver looked down at the red clump that was his hand. “I’ve felt worse.” 

Nyssa smoothed her palms free of salt and chocolate and offered her own hand. Felicity quickly took it and relieved her husband. Oliver didn’t seem nearly as frightened of his hand as everyone else, who gagged at the bright red thing. 

“Put that away!” urged Eddie.

“Oh, fuck—” Lena looked away.

 _“That don’t look right,”_ Frost mumbled under her breath.

“I’m fine, everybody,” Oliver promised. “Circulation will come back in a jiff.”

Barry gaped. “Felicity _strong!”_

Cisco walked up to them, staring. “Strong pretty lady!”

 _“Cissy!”_ Iris grabbed him and pulled him between her and her husband. Cisco was quickly trapped between his girlfriend and boyfriend, squirming as they pressed kiss after kiss anywhere and everywhere on his face.

“I’m trying to work here, guys.” Kate reminded them. 

“Kate, how much longer will this take?” Kara was now fast-asleep in Lena’s lap. “I should really get this one home.”

 _“Not too much time, I hope!”_ Nyssa rasped. Ava let her harshly squeeze the clone’s own hand.

Roy, Sin and Thea bellowed, _“My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend— She’s my girl, too!”_ as they held hands, kissed, hugged and held each other between parts. 

Charlie craned her neck to look up at them. “I don’t get how anyone can sleep through all this racket.”

Livewire turned her head to find Silver Banshee screaming at the top of her lungs directly into Sara’s eardrums.

“Didn’t break a sweat!” Siobhan said.

 _“What?”_ Sara yelled.

 _“What?”_ shouted the Banshee. 

“Honestly.” Livewire said and shook her head through a mouthful.

Laurel looked around at all these people. She’d known so many of them for years. Some were still strangers to her. She wouldn’t pass up this night for the universe. Even if she could go back to Earth-Two, she loved that so many of the people around her were alive and happy because of Prime. Eddie Thawne didn’t have to die to ensure Eobard’s defeat. Here, Barry didn’t have to break Patty’s heart. Livewire wasn’t just undead, but she was genuinely a force of _good._ Here, William had siblings—not blood ones, but blood didn’t matter much to them. He _chose_ to be the brother of Zoe Ramirez and Ruby Arias, the polywogs. Maybe things weren’t always perfect. But as far as Laurel was concerned, this overwhelming linked group of outcasts was her perfect family. She loved them all, so, so, so _fucking_ much, she didn’t know how to put it into a sentence. 

And she didn’t even know some of their names. _That_ was amazing.

Kate shook her head. “And… done!” She pulled the needle from Felicity’s back shoulder. 

Laurel got up from where she sat. Nyssa was freed and so was Ava, who silently scooched a bit away from the demon’s daughter. Everyone crowded them, waiting for the big reveal, shushing and pushing by others. 

_“Show us, show us, show us!”_ Her family chanted. Roy, Thea and Sin cheered it on the mics. Even the people who didn’t know about the tattoos started echoing the infectious call.

Laurel leaned into Felicity. “Let’s give the people what they want, huh?” She kissed her and they rose to their feet together. Laurel peeled off her leather jacket and stuck her thumb under the sleeve of her white tank top, then rubbed it off her shoulder. Felicity did the same.

 _“Nice!”_ A clueless Sam Arias shouted from the back. 

Kate sat back to admire her work. “Hot, ain’t it, Lin?”

 _“Well, I don’t know about Caitlin, Kathy, but_ I _sure think so.”_ Frost winked at Laurel. 

“And with those piercings, ladies?” Charlie shook her head. _“Sexy,_ I’d say.”

“Yeah, I think it looks good,” Oliver agreed.

“Quite.” Nyssa nodded. “Perhaps I should get matching _inks_ with our beloved, hmm?”

Felicity cry-laughed. “I’m not doing this sober again!”

Laurel heard them all faintly. She was busy admiring the black ink against Felicity’s skin. It circled on their shoulders. At the top right and bottom left were three collected sloped lines each. The top one pointed to the small space Felicity had of the tattoo to the end of her shoulder. The bottom one spiked in the direction of her lower spine. 

_A sun._

Laurel grinned to herself. 

_A hope of morning._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this has just been an Icon For Hire ad the entire time
> 
> Anyways I would cop out and say someone asked me to be more specific about my queer Arrowverse headcanons, but honestly no. I just want to write it all down and there's no better place to do it. So look below for a run-down of queer headcanons and who's dating who's, or skip it if you like this is purely self indulgent. i may or may not have forgotten a few names
> 
> Earth-2 Laurel/Siren; lesbian dating Felicity, maybe Frost  
> Earth-1 Laurel; bisexual who dated Nyssa  
> Felicity; mft trans bi dating Oliver, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Nyssa, Siren, maybe Sara, had a fling with alena  
> Oliver; biro ace dating Felicity, Barry, maybe Sara  
> Barry; pan dating Iris, Leonard, Kara, Felicity, Patty, Oliver, Eddie, Cisco  
> Iris; demiro bi dating Barry, Eddie, Leonard, Patty, Cisco  
> Dinah; lesbian queerplatonically dating Rene, Curtis  
> Rene; bisexual ^  
> Curtis; gay ^  
> Patty; biro demi dating Barry, Iris, Caitlin, Eddie  
> Cisco; trans aro bi dating Barry, Iris, Felicity, Ralph, Sue, Kamilla  
> Kamilla; demiro pan enby translady dating Cisco, Ralph, Sue  
> Ralph; agender (he/him) polyro akiosexual dating Cisco, Sue, Kamilla  
> Frost; lesbian dating Caitlin, Livewire, Silver Banshee, maybe Siren  
> Caitlin; bi ace dating ^, Kate, Felicity, Patty  
> Kara; pan dating Lena, Kate, Barry, Sam  
> Lena; lesbian dating ^, Kate, Sam  
> Kate; lesbean dating Julia, Sophie, ^, ^  
> Julia & Sophie; each other, Kate  
> Silverwire; each other, Frost  
> Nyssa; lesbian dating Felicity, maybe Sara, formerly Laurel  
> Charlie; genderfluid pan dating Zari Tomaz, probably everyone  
> Eddie; bi dating Iris, Barry, Patty  
> Cecile; bi dating Joe, Harry  
> Joe; ^  
> Harry; grayromantic graysexual bi dating ^, ^  
> Thea; bi dating Roy, Sin  
> Roy; trans bi dating ^, Sin  
> Sin; enby (they/she) bi dating ^, ^  
> Sara; bi dating Ava, maybe Oliver, maybe Felicity, maybe Nyssa, maybe John  
> Ava; lesbian dating ^  
> Mari; single aroace   
> Kuasa; single lesbian  
> Ray; bi dating Nate, Nora  
> Nate; bi dating Amaya, Ray  
> Nora; bi dating ^, ^, Mona
> 
> that's all i can remember rn

**Author's Note:**

> Wow I really love writing self-loathing tsunderes and pairing them with sunshiny smartasses huh? Anywho, next chapter will be out either this weekend or next week, and the epilogue will follow shortly after! Let me know if you want any things cleared up in the next chapter (though I believe it'll answer all your questions) or anything you want me to put in or correct. This is my first multi-chaptered fic so I'm really looking forward to everyone's input!


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